The number of people in Detroit experiencing homelessness continued a steady decline in 2017, dropping 15% over the previous year. The reduction is credited to the "Housing First" approach to homelessness, which provides permanent supportive housing with wraparound services to ensure success, as opposed to temporary shelter. Detroit added 143 permanent supportive housing units in 2017 and expects to add another 300 over the next five years.
This data comes from the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count of people who were homeless on one night in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, and is supported by annual data tracked through the Homeless Management System or HMIS. The PIT count was conducted in late January by a team of 200 volunteers and staff from the cities' homelessness service providers.
The 2017 PIT count found that 1,769 people were experiencing homelessness in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park, down 15% from last year, when the number was 2,078.
"Many of Detroit's homeless service providers and outreach teams have embraced the new emphasis on housing first and permanent housing as a way to end homelessness. The 2018 PIT count is reflective of their hard work. We could not be prouder of their progress," said Tasha Gray, Executive Director of Continuum of Care.
The chronically homeless population, those who experience homelessness for longer than a year or more than four times over three years also dropped 11% over the last year.
• Homelessness among veterans decreased by 4% over the last year.
The decline in those experiencing homelessness reflects efforts by the City of Detroit and the Detroit Continuum of Care to move from programs that manage homelessness, like transitional housing, to those that end it. Permanent supportive housing removes barriers to housing by providing housing first with various social services attached to ensure homeless residents have continued support as they transition to housing.
Detroit added 143 permanent supportive housing units in 2017, which led to the reduction in chronically homeless people. The city plans to invest in building 300 more permanent supportive housing units to address the remaining chronically homeless population as part of Detroit's Multi-Family Housing Strategy.
This "housing first" oriented approach recognizes that regardless of a household's barriers, access to permanent supportive housing provides stability to address issues that may have led to homelessness in the first place. Because people in shelter and transitional housing count in the PIT count and residents of supportive housing do not, the changes in the PIT count reflect progress towards permanent supportive housing.
The City, Detroit Continuum of Care (CoC), and the Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND) conducted a one night Point-in-Time count of people who were homeless in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park in late January. The Point-in-Time count (PIT) provides a snapshot of the number of people who were homeless in the community on that one night and provides insight on those in shelters, those unsheltered, those who are veterans and those who are chronically homeless.
The count, conducted under the guidance of the Homeless Action Network of Detroit or HAND, Detroit's Continuum of Care Lead Agency for homeless services, helps communities create a standard metric for their progress against homelessness. The metric is one driver of the US Housing and Urban Development funding for services for those experiencing homeless.