WASHINGTON (7News) — An outreach team set out to take a closer look at the number of people living without shelter across D.C. on Thursday night as part of a census count.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the purpose of the unsheltered census count is to give local agencies an idea of where people are.
That way, they can connect them with city services and try to get them to come inside.
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The process started at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and was scheduled to continue through Friday at 1:00 a.m.
The census count is similar to the annual Point-in-Time count that D.C. carries out in January.
This count, however, will provide agencies with an updated snapshot of the number of people still living in tents or outside without any shelter at all, after the federal clearing of encampments.
District officials said the purpose of the headcount is also to help them adjust resources, including shelter space, case management for housing, and medical support.
Mayor Bowser said this is one of the more difficult human services missions, connecting people who frequently have significant mental health issues to services, and getting them to voluntarily accept the help.
City officials said they will not conduct interviews or collect names or personal information.
On Wednesday, the mayor said January’s count showed the first major decrease in the homeless population since the pandemic, noting an 18% drop in family homelessness and a 4.5% decline for single adults.
At that time, she said there were just over 5,000 people experiencing homelessness in DC, and most were using shelters.
