Post updated at 11:32 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7:
The latest point-in-time count numbers of people experiencing homelessness in Douglas County show a count just slightly higher than 2020, the previous record year.
The point-in-time count is a count of people experiencing homelessness in a single day each January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates that each continuum of care nationwide conduct the count at least every other year.
Of 414 people experiencing homelessness in Douglas County on one day in January 2024, 272 were sheltered and 142 were unsheltered, according to data released Wednesday.
Statewide, 2,815 total people comprising 2,271 total households were experiencing homelessness at the time of the survey. People in Douglas County make up about 14.7% of the total number of displaced people in Kansas.
Douglas County’s number represents an 18% increase over last year’s total of 351, or about a 1.5% increase over 2020’s count of 408.
However, methodologies for data collection can vary from year to year based on many factors, and the data collection process is imperfect. People living outside have estimated recently that there are closer to 600 total in Lawrence.
The number of 70 children used for 2024 in the chart is an approximation based on a chart included in the data.
Here’s the data sheet on Douglas County from documentation released thus far:
20240807-Douglas-PIT-countAdditional, more specific data should be forthcoming.
The survey given to people included in this year’s count asked, for instance, where people slept the night before; age, race and ethnicity; domestic violence survivor status; whether people had experienced homelessness before and more.
Results included in the PIT count data for Douglas County show that 17% of respondents were currently employed.
This was the first time 50% of respondents had been homeless, and 51% of people surveyed had been in this episode of homelessness for more than one year. 18% of respondents said they receive any disability benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance or Veteran’s Disability benefits.
Here is the full survey given to people in this year’s count:
2024-PIT-SurveyFind out what’s really going on in your town. Read The Lawrence Times.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
