Warming centers’ guests to be included to ensure most accurate count possible of Philadelphians experiencing homelessness

PHILADELPHIA. – The annual, federally required Point-In-Time (PIT) Count will go on as planned on January 22, 2025, despite the extremely cold temperatures, beginning with a 10 p.m. kick-off event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Hundreds of team lead, counter, survey-taker and event logistics volunteers will gather to check in, meet up with their teams, and participate in refresher training. They’ll hear from speakers, including City officials, and others, who have lived experience with homelessness and will share their journeys to permanent housing through OHS’s services.

This year’s Philadelphia PIT Count will occur in the midst of an enhanced Code Blue, which went into effect at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 19, in response to forecasts of bitter, freezing temperatures and snow. The more than 400 people who have registered to participate in the PIT Count have been alerted to the extreme cold and advised to dress as warmly as possible.

«The PIT Count is a mandatory overnight count on a single night in January of people who are experiencing homelessness. It must take place regardless of the weather conditions,» said OHS Executive Director Cheryl Hill. «We recognize that if people who live and sleep on our sidewalks, in alleyways, and other outdoor locations, can brave the most extreme weather, then we can certainly brave it as well.»

Communities across the U.S. share the data they gather during their PIT Count with the US Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Last year’s Philadelphia PIT Count found a 38 percent rise in homelessness.

«This is not just a Philadelphia problem,» said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. «Homelessness in the U.S. is hitting record levels, with the dramatic rise driven mostly by a lack of affordable housing. We are committed to adding 30,000 more affordable housing units in Philadelphia to address this problem.»

PIT Count teams of volunteers will travel from the Convention Center to their assigned zones at approximately 11 p.m. to count and ask the people they encounter to participate in a survey and answer a few questions about their homelessness experience. Each survey participant will receive a gift card as a small token of appreciation for sharing their story.

The Code Blue declaration triggered activation of OHS’s Warming Center Initiative — opening indoor spaces throughout the city where people can go to warm up. Consequently, OHS anticipates many of the people who will need to be counted will be inside warming centers — and not outside, when the PIT Count gets under way. Some teams will be assigned to count and survey people who are experiencing sheltered homelessness inside shelters or Code Blue warming centers. Other teams will do so among people who are unsheltered — meaning, living outside.

“Because our goal is to get the most accurate count possible, we are asking any warming center that is not funded by the City of Philadelphia to notify us immediately at OHS@philly.gov and provide us with their address and hours of operation, so their guests are included in the PIT Count,” said Hill. “We don’t want to overlook anybody, because our ability to provide effective services to Philadelphia’s homeless community depends on counting as many members of that community as possible.”

The information PIT Count volunteers document will ultimately help the City of Philadelphia and the federal government better understand who is experiencing homelessness and why, as well as which services and programs are working, and which ones might need tweaking, eliminating altogether, or what other kinds of services should be added to increase OHS’s ability to best serve Philadelphia’s most vulnerable residents.

«We appreciate every single person who has stepped up to help us gather the data and information we’ll need to report to HUD,” said Hill. “They are fulfilling a vitally important need.”

About The Office of Homeless Services 

The mission of the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) is to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. OHS works with more than 70 homeless housing and service providers, as well as city, state, and federal government. This system provides homelessness prevention and diversion aid, along with emergency and temporary housing, to people who are experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness.