Volunteers to count Hays County homeless population in January

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — An annual census in January will count the number of people experiencing homelessness in Hays County.

Local nonprofit Hays County Homeless Coalition will conduct a Point-in-Time Count on Jan. 23 with the Texas Homeless Network and local agencies, the county said this week. The data from the count will guide policy and funding decisions for homeless programs on local and national levels.

Data from the January 2024 point-in-time count found the number of unhoused people in the county increased from about 128 people in 2020 to over 240 people in 2024.

A majority of people experiencing homelessness were in shelters, the PIT Count found, which is different than in the first count in 2020.

During the Point-in-Time Count, groups of volunteers will conduct surveys across the county and provide resources to people experiencing homelessness, according to Hays County. Then, the data collected will be sent to the Texa Homeless Network, which will report the numbers to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The nonprofit is looking for volunteers to help with the count. People interested can contact tyler.staton@hayscountytx.gov or peyton.wagner@hayscountytx.gov to learn more.

A similar count will happen in Austin on Jan. 25, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition nonprofit announced in September. The count will survey the number of people experiencing homelessness in Austin and Travis County. The group is looking for about 1,200 volunteers to complete the one-night survey.