On the streets: Inside MoCo’s annual overnight survey of unhoused people

Point-in-time count assesses breadth and depth of local homelessness crisis

February 3, 2025 11:37 a.m. | Updated: February 7, 2025 12:31 p.m.

It’s just after midnight Thursday in downtown Silver Spring, and state Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Dist. 20) and Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) are taking part in a different type of canvassing than the politicians are used to. Bundled in coats and gloves, the two women are helping gather information about how many unhoused people live on the streets of downtown Silver Spring as part of Montgomery County’s annual point-in-time (PIT) homelessness count survey.

“I have found this to be really impactful,” Mink, who was volunteering for the third year, told Bethesda Today around 2 a.m. Thursday, after finishing her assigned portion of the count. “It’s a good opportunity to talk to folks who are experiencing homelessness and to put faces to both the numbers and the stories.”

The annual PIT count, which took place Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning, is designed to provide a “snapshot” of the number of people in the county who are experiencing homelessness on one given night, according to the county’s Department of  Health and Human Services. While not foolproof in its ability to capture an accurate count, the survey is an essential tool for determining how pervasive homelessness is in the county and what services and funding are needed, according to Christine Hong, the county’s chief of Services to End and Prevent Homelessness.

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“The count is very important because it allows us to have concrete data to see what the trends in homelessness in our local jurisdiction are,” Hong told a Bethesda Today reporter attending the count. “We believe it is an undercount, because it’s one night, and it’s hard to tell if all the people experiencing homelessness are actually in our shelters or outside. So it’s mostly for watching the trends.”

Hong notes the survey doesn’t account for individuals who may couch-surf in the homes of others or sleep in their cars in secluded areas, which contributes to the undercount.

The PIT count is conducted almost entirely by volunteers. Between 170 to 200 volunteers participated in Wednesday night’s count, according to Hong. Led by experienced team leaders who work for local nonprofits, volunteer teams are assigned to different geographical regions of the county.

Hitting the streets

Provided with a map, the teams are tasked with checking out various “hot spots” where unhoused individuals are most likely to be spending the night. Volunteers then approach these people to ask them questions about their demographics – including race, gender identity, employment status – and their experiences with homelessness. Volunteers started training at 8 p.m. at two hubs in Silver Spring and Rockville before being sent to their assigned locations across the county. Wednesday night’s surveying concluded at 3 a.m. Thursday.

The goal is for teams to count unhoused individuals while making sure they don’t interfere or intrude upon their lives, Hong said. If someone does not want to complete the survey, teams are instructed to add the person to the count and move on.

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Volunteers are not allowed to wake up sleeping people and can’t ask questions that diverge from the prewritten survey. During the training at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Veterans Plaza, volunteers were urged to be sensitive and were reminded that unhoused people may want to be left alone, or may be hesitant to give out personal information.

The volunteers provide people who participate in the survey with bags of essential items and McDonald’s gift cards, but the volunteers don’t pressure them to seek shelter or services unless they indicate an interest in learning more. The whole process is intended to be entirely voluntary.

“Do you usually sleep here?” Paloma Arroyo-LeFebre, a social worker with Bethesda Cares who was leading the group of volunteers, asked a man who had made a sleeping space behind an office building in downtown Silver Spring on Wednesday night.

The man shared that he was employed but didn’t make enough money to afford housing, so he had been sleeping under an awning for several weeks. Charkoudian recorded his answers in a survey portal on her cell phone while Arroye-LeFebre talked to him and gave him a bag of cold weather accessories and personal hygiene supplies.

Some people the group encountered slept in their cars, while others slept on the street, trying to find the spots that were mostly covered and warm. Some were alone, while others were with family members or had pets.

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Arroyo-LeFebre was familiar with some of the people the group encountered, some of whom use the services provided by Bethesda Cares, a nonprofit that aims to end and prevent homelessness.

Montgomery County has seen an increase in its unhoused population over the past few years. The 2023 PIT count revealed that homelessness was up 53% in the county from the previous year. The county saw a 47% increase in family homelessness between 2023 and 2024, according to Hong, indicating the problem is continuing to worsen.

“Because of lower-income [salaries] not keeping up with inflation, because of the increasing rent, because of the end of the COVID-era federal funding and the emergency rental assistance … we believe all of these factors were drivers causing many more households to experience homelessness,” Hong said.

In December, the County Council approved a $3.6 million funding increase for homelessness services at the urging of Hong and other advocates working with unhoused populations. Hong’s department was projected to overspend its original budget allocation for fiscal year 2025, which ends June 30, by $550,000, due to the need in the community.

On Wednesday night, the team of volunteers whom Charkoudian and Mink accompanied interacted with unhoused county residents of a variety of backgrounds, races, genders and family structures. Some were gainfully employed but were not making enough money to afford housing. The team hiked through apartment complexes, checked parking garage staircases and alleys, and peeked behind dumpsters, dodging slippery patches of ice and snow while making sure nobody was left uncounted.

The night marked the first time that Charkoudian, who represents Silver Spring in the Maryland General Assembly, participated in the PIT count. She said she was inspired by the volunteers who were willing to stay out in the cold till 3 a.m. to work toward decreasing homelessness.

“At a time when it feels like at the federal level, hatred and preying on vulnerability is the primary strategy coming out of the White House, I think it’s a good time to connect with other people who care deeply and are committed to spending our lives building the beloved community and making sure everyone’s cared for,” Charkoudian said. “That’s part of what’s so inspiring about Montgomery County, and part of what we saw tonight was people who are committed to that.”

The county’s official PIT count numbers and analysis are typically released in the spring as part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments PIT survey report, which includes data from nine jurisdictions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

“This type of count is very helpful in trying to make decisions regarding resources and funding,” Hong said. “We can present concrete data.”

Mink said her participation in the event over the past three years has impacted how she reviews the county’s operating budget as a councilmember.

“Last year, when I was up for the point-in-time count, and I followed the numbers that came out following that, I saw the enormous increase in our unhoused population,” Mink said. “That contributed to me taking a really close look at how we were budgeting.”

Charkoudian said Wednesday’s count provided an important experience to learn more about her constituents who may be experiencing homelessness, and to figure out how she can create legislation that could help.

“One of the ways that I make policy is by trying to be very hands-on with both people who are experiencing vulnerable situations as well as people who are providing services,” Charkoudian said. “I find that there’s a lot of bills that I’ve had that come out of these experiences learning directly from people. This is an important piece of that process.”

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