The annual count of Nashville's people experiencing homelessness was released today and the numbers show a small 1 percent decrease over the 2016 count. However, in young people aged 18-24, the annual count indicated an overall 32 percent increase in both sheltered and unsheltered youths.
In a release from the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Mayor Megan Barry said that while she's glad to see the overall decrease, "we still have more work to do as a community to ensure that all Nashvillians have access to adequate shelter and affordable housing."
The count took place beginning on the evening of Jan. 26 and ended in the early morning of Jan. 27. The city sent out more than 100 volunteers from 24 different agencies and universities to complete the count.
The count saw a small uptick in veteran homelessness as well — two more people than counted in 2016. A large decrease — 39 percent — in chronically homeless people was also indicated, but that's likely because of a stricter definition of chronic homelessness, according to MDHA.
“This year, we need to align every resource to allow the unhoused to find a place to call home," Barry said in the statement. "We are increasing funding for homelessness services and outreach, while also investing more money in affordable housing initiatives.”
Some argue that the annual point-in-time count, which is done each year by MDHA as a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, isn't an accurate representation of the city's homeless.
From a Pith post after the 2016 count:
Let’s start with aptly named PIT or “point-in-time” count. Sadly, this constantly cited number is used as the estimate of homelessness in Nashville and nationally. The first thing to know is that it is an estimate of a single night. You cannot estimate yearly counts by looking at a night — it is not a statistically representative sample. Nor is it an “average” night — it is taken between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on one of the coldest nights of the year. Which of the following people do you think were counted in the official “Point in Time” count reported last year in Nashville (names have been changed, but we know people in all of these categories)?A) Mary and her sister Carrie, children enrolled in Nashville schools, and their parents, but living in a hotel till the money runs out this month.
B) Jeff and Sue, a couple who can’t stay together at the Nashville Rescue Mission, and camp deep in the woods along a creek where nobody can find them.
C) Joe in Vanderbilt hospital for a week with frostbite.
D) David, picked up for sleeping on a loading dock and charged with criminal trespass, spending a couple of days in jail.
E) Ann and her four children, recently evicted from their apartment and living out of a car.
The answer is none of the above. None would have been included in the official point-in-time count of Nashville’s homeless. But Mary and Carrie and their parents, Jeff and Sue, Joe, David, and Ann and her four kids are homeless.
