Reporting on your PIT Count Data

This resource offers Built for Zero leaders guiding questions to develop a communications strategy around the 2025 point-in-time count release and build an ongoing approach to data communications.

Please contact comms@community.solutions with any questions.

Access the full communications Toolkit

Background

The release of any community’s point-in-time (PIT) count is likely to dominate regional news coverage and shape local narratives about whether progress is being made on reducing homelessness.

New national data offer important context for this moment. A Community Solutions analysis of preliminary 2025 PIT count data from 170 communities finds that homelessness in the United States may be stabilizing after several years of sharp increases. But the results are uneven: declines are concentrated in major cities, while rural and suburban communities are seeing modest increases. That means Built for Zero communities will be entering this news cycle from very different local contexts, some celebrating visible reductions, others navigating how to explain numbers that have gone up.

The goal of this resource is to help Built for Zero leaders communicate consistently across the network, and authentically to local context

Regardless of your community’s PIT count findings, this is an opportunity for local leaders to assert that they understand the problem, that meaningful progress is possible, and that they are committed to the coordinated approach that produces results.

When local narratives are grounded in a clear-eyed view of the problem, the evidence of what works, and a genuine sense of progress, they generate the political patience and sustained support needed to keep that work going.

Key Messages

Leading from a shared foundation

Whatever your local numbers show, the core message is the same: this work is making a visible difference, and it takes sustained commitment to keep it going.

When we take a whole-community approach and act with speed, coordination, and accountability, homelessness can be visibly and meaningfully reduced. Cities large and small are proving it.
A single annual snapshot does not capture the full picture of progress. Real-time, by-name data tells the more complete story.
The point-in-time count is one data point. The work happening every day in our community goes well beyond what any one-night count can measure.

If your numbers show a decrease or stabilization

Lead with the progress, ground it in the work, and use it to make the case for staying the course.

Homelessness in [community name] is down [X percent / X people] from last year. That reflects real work: outreach workers who know people by name, better coordination across systems, and faster housing placements.
This progress is meaningful, and it is not an accident. It is what happens when a community acts with speed, coordination, and accountability.
We are not done. Sustaining and building on these reductions requires continued investment in the coordinated approach that is producing results.
National data backs up what we are seeing locally. A new Community Solutions analysis finds homelessness in the U.S. may be stabilizing after years of sharp increases, with unsheltered homelessness down about 3 percent across 170 communities.

If your numbers show an increase

Contextualize the numbers honestly, connect them to what you know from real-time data, and keep the focus on the path forward.

The point-in-time count captures one night in January. It does not reflect the thousands of people our community helped move into housing over the course of the year.
Our real-time, by-name data gives us a more complete picture. On any given day, we know how many people are experiencing homelessness in [community name], who they are, and what they need. That is what drives our work and gets outcomes – more people off the streets and into homes.
Increases in the count can reflect a range of factors: housing costs, people moving in from outside the area, improved counting methods, or a genuine increase in need. We are committed to understanding what is driving our numbers and responding to it.
The national trend is encouraging. Across 170 communities, homelessness appears to be stabilizing after years of sharp increases. We are working to make sure [community name] reflects that trajectory.

About the count

The point-in-time count is a single-night snapshot of people experiencing homelessness, conducted in January, not the full picture.

Communities are required to do a census count of people who are homeless but sheltered once a year. They’re required to conduct a count of people who are homeless and unsheltered every two years.
Year over year, these counts provide a broad-strokes picture of whether homelessness is trending up or down. This is valuable data for policymaking and research.
These counts do not, however, give communities the real-time data they need to actually assess the scope of homelessness and right-size the solutions to get people housed.
People move in and out of homelessness throughout the year. That is why a community can work year-round to house thousands of people and still see a rise in overall numbers. A one-night snapshot, on its own, cannot capture the full picture – there’s a deeper, more complex story of need and of progress.

About real-time data

In [[community name]], we are committed to measuring homelessness in real time.

We maintain a list of every person experiencing homelessness in our community. With their consent, each person on that list has a file that includes their name, homeless history, health needs, and housing needs. That information helps us make data-driven decisions, prioritize resources, and make sure no one falls through the cracks.
When communities commit to better data collection, they sometimes see an initial rise in numbers. That is not a setback. It reflects a clearer, more complete picture of the challenge, and a clearer picture is what makes it possible to drive visible, meaningful reductions.
A growing number of communities are adopting real-time, by-name data systems that track homelessness monthly, rather than relying on a single annual count.
This approach allows local leaders to identify people in need, respond more quickly, and measure progress continuously.
Communities using this approach have demonstrated that more timely data accelerates reductions and makes more effective use of already available resources.
Real-time, by-name data creates accountability for results. It ensures that critical investments, like affordable housing, reach the people who need them most.

The bottom line

Our work continues. To [continue to] drive reductions in homelessness in [[community name]], we need more homes, in all shapes and sizes, for all our neighbors.

Rents and mortgages are rising faster than incomes, creating financial and social pressures that affect everyone. Historic housing shortages remain a central driver of homelessness nationwide.
When people do fall into homelessness, they need access to housing quickly, and many need wraparound services to help them stabilize and stay housed.