The 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count identified 6,298 people experiencing homelessness as of Jan. 23 in Maricopa County – 693 more people than when it was conducted in 2017.
The PIT count is conducted by the Maricopa Association of Governments as part of a national effort to evaluate the extent of homelessness throughout the country. It is conducted in a single day and includes a survey to identify the needs of the homeless population.
Out of the 6,298 people identified, 2,618 people were classified as unsheltered, meaning they weren’t sleeping in one of the local emergency shelters or a transitional home when the count was conducted.
“It’s alarming that the overall number (of homeless people) is going up, but what’s even more alarming to us is the number of people on our streets,” said Anne Scott, the human service planner for the Maricopa Association of Governments.
She said the growth of Maricopa County’s population is a factor in the growing number of homeless people. According to U.S. Census data released in March, more people moved to Maricopa County than any other county in the entire country, with an estimated increase of 74,000 people. She said a tightening housing market has also led to a lot of people losing their homes.
Scott said the closing of the Men’s Overflow Shelter in 2015 and a makeshift overflow shelter in a parking lot run by Arizona Shelter Services in 2016 lowered the county’s capacity to shelter homeless people. However, she said that not all the operational shelters were at capacity when the count was conducted.
“For one reason or another, some people don’t seek shelter,” Scott said. She said the county doubled the number of surveyors and employed a new app to help record data this year which could account for some of the increase, but also said the growing number of homeless people in the county is evident just by walking the streets.
Jordyn Briyon Moore, a 26-year-old homeless man has been without a home for the past four years. He spent his first year at Arizona Shelter Services in downtown Phoenix, but has chosen to remain on the streets for the past three.
Moore grew up in Avondale and decided to stay behind when his family moved out of state. He was employed and had his own apartment, but neglected his job to “party and enjoy his youth” and was eventually evicted.
“The shelters obviously want to get you on your feet again,” Moore said. “They would wake me up early so I could go out and look for work, but that’s just not for me,” he said. Moore said he knows he can’t remain on the streets, but doesn’t have any immediate aspirations to find stability.
Mitchell (MJW), also known as Crow, a homeless man who performs “gypsy blues” and is a common sight on Roosevelt Row during First Friday, said he’s had problems coping with crowds since he was a child and “feels claustrophobic when he’s in buildings.” He grew up in D.C. and has traveled the country performing and taking on odd jobs to get by. He said he’s used some of the services available to the homeless but hasn’t relied on them.
Scott said data collected from the PIT Count and the accompanying survey is taken into consideration and incorporated into the county’s plans to end homelessness.
Contact the reporter at jicazare@asu.edu.
