SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of volunteers hand-counted people without a place to call home on Tuesday night.
This is called the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count and is led by the organization Close to Home. The count happens one night a year in hundreds of cities across the United States.
The data is then reported to the Department of Housing & Urban Development to track trends across the country.
“It is our most accurate count,” Katie Hubble, Close to Home’s director of communications & development, said. “It informs decisions that shape national priorities around homelessness.”
More than 400 volunteers participated in San Antonio’s count on Tuesday night. They handed out supplies and conducted surveys with people experiencing homelessness.
“There’s questions like demographics, age, date of birth,” Hubble said. “Also, ‘is this your first time experiencing homelessness?’ ‘Do you have any psychiatric conditions or substance abuse?’”
The Bexar County count started at 6 p.m., and the downtown San Antonio count started at 10 p.m.
“We are as accurate as we possibly can be,” Dacey Werba, Close to Home’s director of strategic alignment, said.
Close to Home reported that last year’s data showed a 7% increase in homelessness in San Antonio. Nationwide, Hubble said there was an 18% increase.
The data for 2025 will not be released until May.
