The latest data just released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found Dallas bucked a national trend in its annual homeless count from January 2024.
DALLAS — Dallas has achieved a 16% decrease in homelessness between 2022 and 2024, bucking a national trend that saw homeless numbers rise by 18%, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The department attributed the success in Dallas to the city’s 2021 transformation in its approach to addressing homelessness, which included a public-private partnership and a focus on connecting individuals and families directly to housing.
Earlier this year, Dallas announced its $30 million Street to Home Initiative to close targeted homeless encampments and keep them closed. It began with three sites around City Hall over the summer and promised more to come.
Dallas has set the self-described “ambitious” goal of cutting street homelessness by 50% by 2026, bolstered in part by the Street to Home Initiative.
The positive results in Dallas stand in stark contrast to national figures. HUD’s 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report found that more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024 across the nation, marking an 18% increase from the previous year.
However, homelessness in Dallas remains both a visible and political issue. City Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn posted to X photos of multiple encampments and has alluded to asking Governor Greg Abbott to step in to address homelessness.
Councilmember Jesse Moreno, who chairs the city’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, has said addressing homelessness is one of his top priorities for the next city manager.
The Dallas HERO organization filed notice earlier this month that it intends to sue Dallas if the city doesn’t start enforcing a camping ban on public property.
“This lack of enforcement not only undermines public safety and the accessibility of shared spaces but also hinders efforts to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with necessary services and resources,” the group said in a statement at the time.
The HUD report found the national increase in homelessness was particularly pronounced in family homelessness, which rose 39% from 2023 to 2024. However, HUD officials noted that communities affected by migration saw family homelessness more than double, while other areas experienced less than an 8% increase.
The report highlighted one bright spot in veteran homelessness, which dropped to its lowest recorded level. Nationally, there was nearly an 8% decrease in veterans experiencing homelessness, from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024.
Earlier this year, Dallas announced it reached a significant milestone in addressing veteran homelessness as well.
