BEND, OR -- The Homeless Leadership Coalition has released more preliminary data from this year’s Point In Time (PIT) homeless count. While Bend saw fewer unsheltered homeless, "There was a huge rise in Crook County for the number of people who are living unsheltered," says Coalition Chair Eliza Wilson. But she believes the spike is because of a better process, "We had a huge provider group and cross-systems group working to do the PIT count this year, and we’ve never had that level of engagement in Crook County." She adds, "The health department led the PIT count in Crook County and there were a number of organizations involved in that. Even the library, Redemption House were hugely involved. So they did such a great job of going out into more rural areas." She says most of those counted have been in that community for a long time.

The PIT count is a snapshot of where the unhoused spent the night of January 23rd. Wilson says volunteers counted 1,811 people in the tri-county region. That's 164 more than in 2023. As in past years, Wilson still believes this year's number is an undercount, "We do know that there are more people entering homelessness than exiting." She adds, "This is only what we can capture between 9-5, Monday-Friday; or, I think we had some people go out on Saturday and Sunday. If we were to really be able to have the capacity to count people when they’re off work, because we have a lot of folks who work."

Wilson says there is good news: In both Jefferson and Deschutes County, where state emergency funding increased shelter capacity, more people are accessing those services. "For the first time, there is a shelter in Jefferson County that opened, so we’re seeing more people in shelter in the count." And, "In Deschutes County, why we’re seeing more people in shelter, it’s because we’ve increased shelter capacity with the emergency order funding, and those investments. And in Jefferson County, the same thing: we have a shelter."