AUSTIN, Texas — On one night every year, dozens of volunteers venture out in Hays County and hand-count just how many people are experiencing homelessness during that one moment in time. On Jan. 25, the Point-in-Time Count found the overall county is down from last year, but there were fewer people using shelters.
The data showed there were 111 people that were sheltered, 99 unsheltered and 36 that were counted as observations of those who appeared unsheltered. In 2023, the number stood at 140 sheltered, 40 unsheltered and 15 observations counted as unsheltered.
According to Hannah Durrance, the founder and organizer of the Homeless, Outreach, Mitigation, Emergency (H.O.M.E.) Center, it's a flawed system but one of necessity because the count determines what the federal government will fund in communities in order to address the homelessness.
"It does not count the number of individuals who are sleeping on someone's sofa or misses a lot of people who are living in their cars … And it definitely does not count the people who are living in motels," Durrance said. "We do know that there's populations of unhoused people in other areas of the county, but those areas are not getting counted."
Durrance noted that San Marcos, where her organization is based, has become a dumping ground for the homeless population, as cities such as Kyle and Buda do not have resources for those who are unhoused.
"We're seeing a rising number of unhoused individuals, but we're not seeing an increase in the amount of funding for this issue," Durrance said.
The data also showed the population for unhoused veterans also rose, which is why H.O.M.E. will be hosting a fundraiser on Saturday night at the Tantra coffee shop in San Marcos.
Durrance added homelessness is a county-wide issue and leaders need to put their heads together in order to help those who find themselves with little to no options.
"If each county was putting a little more resources into the issue and all of that, and the county was focusing on this as an overall issue, not just the city of San Marcos, then we could see a lot more resources going into this," Durrance said.