Nashville’s Unhoused Census Is In - See How The City Is Doing!
Nashville’s Unhoused Census Is In -
See How The City Is Doing!
On the night of January 27, 2022, Nashville’s temperature low was 34 degrees Fahrenheit, and 1,916 people were counted among the city's homeless population.
Each year, a Point in Time (PIT) count of Nashville’s population experiencing homelessness is taken. The 2022 count on January 27, 2022 revealed 1,916 individuals in sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.
One night each year in late January, Nashville’s Metro Development and Housing Agency, together with other community organizations and volunteers, conducts a Point in Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness.
The PIT count is determined by reports from Nashville’s shelters and transitional housing programs, as well as a hand count of people sleeping outside, in vehicles, under bridges, in encampments, or in other unsheltered locations. (The count does not include people who are in hospitals, prisons, or homes of another person and are also experiencing homelessness.)
While PIT numbers provide a useful point of comparison, they don’t show “the true extent of homelessness over an entire year” (MDHA). The PIT count is conducted across the country to provide a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in a given location each year.
Insights from Nashville’s 2022 Point in Time Count
Of the 1,916 people counted this year, 1,282 were sleeping in emergency or transitional housing shelters. 634 were sleeping outside, in vehicles, in encampments, or in other unsheltered locations. 57% of these unsheltered individuals were sleeping in encampments.
At least 500 people (26%) were experiencing chronic homelessness. In comparison, the national average for percent experiencing chronic homelessness was 19%.
Men, Black people, and people with mental illnesses were over-represented compared to the general population, with the count showing:
71% men
42% Black or African American
48% reported a serious mental illness
39% reported a substance use disorder
Since the previous Point in Time count, this year’s report showed:
A 5% DECREASE in the overall count, including 150 fewer in shelters
An INCREASE of 50 persons who were unsheltered
The Nashville PIT count has been decreasing since 2016. However, a longitudinal perspective since 2011 demonstrates little change in the overall number of people experiencing homelessness in the last decade.
A longitudinal perspective since 2011 demonstrates recent improvement, but little change in the last decade to the overall number of people experiencing homelessness.
Our Neighbors and Guests
For Luke 14:12, the 1,916 total people counted on January 27, and the 500 of these experiencing chronic homelessness, are more than numbers. Many of these people our staff and volunteers call by name. Theirs are the faces we see in our community week after week, each with their own story of survival and persistence.
