The Homelessness Research Institute of the National Alliance to End Homelessness released a long-awaited report in mid-January that revealed the numbers and demographics for homeless people nationwide.

This point-in-time count from 2005 shows that there are 744,313 homeless in the United States on any given night. This number included 41 percent who were in families.

Locally, there were 5,518 homeless individuals in the District of Columbia, 7,995 in Maryland and 10,346 in Virginia. Overall, the numbers and demographics were fairly consistent with where they have been in the past.

The most shocking aspect of the survey, according to Nan Roman, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance, was the number of unsheltered homeless people--44 percent of the total homeless population. Roman added that while the accuracy of this number is open to question, the shelter shortage in the country definitely needs to be addressed.

“We can solve our shelter problems, there’s no reason to have the shortages and current conditions,” said Roman.

D.C. seems to be doing comparatively well when it comes to housing homeless people, with just 354 individuals or 6.4 percent usually unsheltered, according to the count.

The report, “Homelessness Counts,” is a result of efforts to estimate the homeless population nationwide for the first time in a decade, and is viewed as the first step in more accurately counting homeless people on an annual basis. The data were collected by all 463 U.S. Continuums of Care (CoCs), which are local HUD-defined jurisdictions overseeing homeless services and programs.

However, the data cannot accurately be compared to any previous counts due to the countless discrepancies and difficulties intrinsic to the data collection process, according to the report. These include: different methodologies in collecting and enumerating data among CoCs, sampling/extrapolation, logistical and political challenges, and issues relating to the very definition of homelessness.

When compared as a state to other states, the District of Columbia ranks highest in terms of the percentage of homeless people in the general population with one percent homeless, meaning that one out of every 100 D.C. residents in January 2005 was in some state of homelessness. Compared to similarly-sized CoCs however, D.C. did not have a significantly larger than average homeless population.

Other states with very high percentages of homelessness were Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Rhode Island, with homeless populations between 0.38 percent and 0.68 percent of the general population. States with the lowest percentages of homelessness (0.06 percent-0.10 percent) were Alabama, Mississippi, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

In Maryland, 27 percent of the homeless population lived in two CoCs in the D.C. metropolitan area: Bowie/Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. Likewise, in Virginia, 28 percent of the homeless population lived in the five areas neighboring D.C.: Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Alexandria, and Manassas City & Park/Prince William County.

According to the report, about one-fourth of all homeless people in the U.S. were chronically homeless, defined by HUD as having been homeless for at least a year or having experienced homelessness at least four times in three years. Under this definition, a chronically homeless person is unaccompanied, has lived in an emergency shelter or in a place unfit to live, and has a disabling condition (physical or psychological illness and/or substance abuse). For D.C. this number is higher than the national figure, with about one-third of homeless people chronically homeless.

According to the report, HUD does not include in its definition of homelessness those families that are “doubled up” in housing. Although sometimes these families can be stable and eligible for programs if deemed at risk for homelessness, some of them should be included in counts, adding to the numbers, said Roman.

Michael Stoops, the acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, also pointed out that this report did not go far enough so as to count all the homeless people living on the streets, a group that is not visible and therefore difficult to count. Consequently, he said, the numbers across the country should be much higher.

“We believe the number is a gross undercount and give the impression that everything is fine,” Stoops said. “Our sense is that homelessness is increasing and numbers like this can be used against us.”

Throughout the report is an emphasis on the fact that the point-in-time estimates provide only a glimpse of the homelessness situation in the U.S. For example, The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness found that one in every 31 D.C. residents was or became homeless during the course of the 2004 fiscal year.

Roman said that the longer annual timeframe would add significantly to the number of homeless individuals and families counted in the report. She noted that many people who experience temporary homelessness ended up not included in the point-in-time count.

Nonetheless, “At the same time, D.C. communities take the count very seriously and try to do their best to include everybody when doing point-in-time surveys,” said Roman. “People use them for planning to try to solve problems.”

The Alliance plans to release similar reports each year, in order to better track progress across the country. Since 2003, CoCs have been required to collect data on their homeless populations every two years, with HUD providing technical and other support. Each year, data systems and dating collecting methods of CoCs will become more consistent, Roman said.

“We are looking for better and more complete information from more communities covering more of the system,” she said.

The National Coalition’s Stoops said that counting the homeless every year is not necessary and the funding for these surveys should go elsewhere.

“We spend too much money counting homeless people and developing plans,” Stoops said. “And we should be using our time and money to house homeless people.”

The Alliance report does address this housing issue, noting that HUD’s policies are being more geared toward permanent housing through its homeless assistance program.

Roman also stressed that local communities, nonprofit organizations, various levels of government, and the private sector have been committing and collaborating more than ever to end homelessness locally and nationally. D.C., along with over 200 other communities, has created and started following through with a 10-year plan to end homelessness.

“We’ve found in Congress, state and city governments, a desire to solve the problem,” said Roman, who affirmed that homelessness has become a bipartisan issue. But “housing affordability is the driver in homelessness.”