Washoe County releases 2024 PIT Count

Washoe County released the results of the January 25, 2024, Point in Time (PIT) count, showing a slight
increase in the single-day count while comparative reports show an overall decrease in homelessness
over time. The PIT Count is an annual, in-person count of the number of people experiencing
homelessness in Washoe County and is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD).

Conducted each year, the PIT Count provides a detailed one day “snapshot” of the size and
demographics of sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations in communities across the nation.
The count is conducted according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidance
and begins at 4 a.m. on the day of the count. Normally conducted in the last 10 days of January, this
year’s count was conducted statewide on January 25.

“The PIT count wouldn’t be possible without all the street outreach providers and law enforcement
agencies that showed up at 4 a.m. on a cold winter morning, Catrina Peters, the Northern Nevada
Continuum of Care coordinator, said. “Thank you to all who supported the effort!”

The total number of people experiencing homelessness was 1,760, a slight increase compared to last
year’s count of 1,690. This four percent increase includes 363 people who were living unsheltered such
as in a tent, car or the on street, and 1,397 people living in emergency shelters or transitional housing
programs.

“The fluctuations in sheltered and unsheltered populations are expected and provide us with an
important glimpse into the factors that impact homelessness,” Catrina Peters, the Northern Nevada
Continuum of Care coordinator, said. “However, the PIT Count is only one tool we use to identify trends
and to understand the population we are serving. The PIT Count paired with the Homeless Management
Information System and the Built for Zero model is how we continue to work toward increased housing
and decreased homelessness.”

The PIT Count also includes a companion report, the Housing Inventory Chart, that is submitted to HUD.
This report includes information on bed inventory and bed utilization. For the 2024 data, high utilization
of emergency shelter beds was seen at 93 percent utilization overall, higher than Transitional Housing
utilization which was 73 percent.

Overall, the slight increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness reflects the trends seen
in the winter months during which monthly homeless numbers increase. Regionally, there has been an
increase in the number of people being housed, but a greater increase in the number of people falling
into homelessness. Following positive trends of outflow exceeding inflow in the fall of 2023, in
December, January and February, inflow exceed outflow in Washoe County.

While the Built for Zero monthly homeless count reflects a slightly different methodology of counting
people who have activity within the last 90 days in the regional database, monthly year-over-year
comparisons show reductions in the number of people experiencing homelessness. This is consistent
with the reduction in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the 2021 PIT
Count, which was 780.
Limited affordable housing for low and extremely low-income populations continues to make exits to
permanent housing challenging for both sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness.

“Our region needs to continue to stay laser focused on increasing affordable housing for low- and
extremely low-income populations in order to further move the needle on solving homelessness,”
Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill said. “I’m thrilled to see the continued collaboration across
the region to solve this challenging problem. Although we have seen a slight increase in the PIT Count,
Washoe County has housed 1,334 people in the last year, and we are seeing a decrease in recidivism
with our tenancy support programs. We are continuing to follow the Built for Zero model and are
committed to serve each individual and their unique needs. Creative solutions like the 50-unit
supportive housing project at the Nevada Cares Campus, made possible with support from the Nevada
Housing Division’s Home Means Nevada Initiative, will be a critical step forward in providing housing to
our most vulnerable.”