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, generally conducted in the last 10 days of January, 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 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, 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.”
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.
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.
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.”
Learn more about the PIT Count here. 
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