| Cuyahoga County Homeless Population- All residents are safe, supported and able to care for themselves |
Strategic Priorities |
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7.2 End chronic homelessness for veterans, families and youth
- All residents are safe, supported and able to care for themselves
About this measure |
Cuyahoga County uses its annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count to measure the County’s homeless population. The PIT count identifies the total number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night in January each year.
PIT count data for Cuyahoga County are reported by the Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services on an annual basis.
PIT count homeless estimates for similar communities are reported by the National Homeless Information Project. Communities vary on availability of resources, housing markets, and community organizations, which can impact the homeless population.
Why is this important? |
With a goal to reach functional zero, meaning the average capacity of Cuyahoga County's shelter system can meet the existing need, it is critical to understand the number of individuals and persons in families experiencing homelessness in Cuyahoga County. By tracking the number of homeless individuals and families annually, the Office of Homeless Services can determine if strategies implemented by the Cleveland/Cuyahoga Continuum of Care (CoC) are effective in reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness.
How are we making an impact? | |
This is a community indicator measure. It is provided to show an understanding of the overall community health. The County government does not directly control the outcome of this measure; however, a number of programs and initiatives the County is undertaking can have an impact.
The 2021 PIT count for Cuyahoga County documented a 11% decrease in the number of homeless single adults and an 3% increase in the number of homeless persons in families. While the numbers reflect a single night of homelessness, when compared to previous PIT count annual data, trends do emerge. In this case, the numbers suggest that our county is moving back toward pre-pandemic numbers. The need for a strong safety net remains while strategies to support a living wage and expansion of housing subsidies continue.
2022 Point-In-Time Count - January 25, 2022
The Cuyahoga Continuum of Care (CoC) will conduct the sheltered count as scheduled in 2022. This year’s sheltered count will include the usual year-round shelter beds, overflow beds, and seasonal shelter beds. This year's PIT Count will include a count of the unsheltered population, which was omitted last year due to COVID-19 exceptions granted by HUD.
Continued COVID-19 Efforts:
- Reduce Shelter Census
- Diversion at Coordinated Entry: Gift cards
- For singles and families currently in shelter: Encouraged to relocate to family/friends without interruption in Housing Plan action; Relocation plan confirmed by shelter staff; Gift cards offered to assist with food costs.
- Currently providing three COVID-19 isolation & quarantine sites.
- Non-congregate Shelter Beds
- Acquisition and rehabilitation to support non-congregate shelter space within continuum
Impact
- Resumed 386-bed men’s shelter capacity in semi-congregate setting; 2022 transition to non-congregate setting.
- Resumed 186-bed women’s shelter capacity; 2022 transition to non-congregate setting.
- Reducing concentration enables congregate shelters to create “social distancing” for those at the shelter.
- Family Shelters: Operating at pre-pandemic capacity with increased efforts and funding to link households to permanent housing.
Homeless Population - Annual Performance |
Homeless Population by Race - Annual Performance |
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| Homeless Population - Comparative Analysis |
Attachments |
Data Source |
Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services (Point-In-Time Count)
- Month of update: January.
- Disaggregated race data was gathered from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
- Race categories were selected based on Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidance described in the HMIS data standards manual.
- For reporting purposes "Data not collected" includes instances where data was not collected, clients refused to report data, and clients did not know what to report.
Measure Data | Last Calculated 2 months ago |
| Period | | Status | Homeless Population - Individuals | Homeless Population - Persons in Families | Homeless Population - Total | Black | White | Asian | Two or more races | Some other race | Data not collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | | Community Indicator | 1,550 | 393 | 1,943 | ||||||
| 2016 | | Community Indicator | 1,360 | 337 | 1,697 | 1,178.00 | 487.00 | 7.00 | 20.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 |
| 2017 | | Community Indicator | 1,360 | 367 | 1,727 | 1,199.00 | 498.00 | 4.00 | 24.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| 2018 | | Community Indicator | 1,377 | 431 | 1,808 | 1,274.00 | 483.00 | 8.00 | 32.00 | 11.00 | 0.00 |
| 2019 | | Community Indicator | 1,228 | 390 | 1,618 | 1,172.00 | 405.00 | 6.00 | 28.00 | 7.00 | 0.00 |
| 2020 | | Community Indicator | 1,315 | 360 | 1,675 | 1,184.00 | 452.00 | 8.00 | 24.00 | 7.00 | 0.00 |
| 2021 | | Community Indicator | 1,170 | 387 | 1,557 | 1,088.00 | 434.00 | 10.00 | 19.00 | 6.00 | 0.00 |
| 2022 | | Not Defined |