On a single January night this year, 5,111 people were counted as experiencing homelessness in D.C. That’s according to numbers out Thursday by The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, which leads the annual, federally-required point-in-time count.

The numbers show a 19.9% overall decrease in people experiencing homelessness in D.C. Meanwhile, the total number of families experiencing homelessness dropped by 49% between 2020 and 2021. 

The point-in-time count happens annually in D.C. and helps inform decisions made by policymakers and social services providers as they try to solve the homelessness crisis. During the count, volunteers survey people experiencing homelessness on basic demographic information and offer services as needed.

This year’s count happened under extraordinary circumstances, as the city grapples with an ongoing pandemic and works to get its population vaccinated. In addition to their usual questions, volunteers completing the count asked people if they would like information on receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. 

In 2021, according to the count that took place late January 28 into early January 29, 681 people were counted sleeping on the street, 3,352 people were counted in emergency shelters and 1,078 people were counted in transitional housing. The nearly 20% overall reduction in people experiencing homelessness was largely driven by a vast reduction in families experiencing homelessness. The 2020 count, by contrast, found that the overall number of people experiencing homelessness in D.C. had decreased by 2.2% from 2019. 

Federal action during the pandemic may explain some of the decrease in homelessness, The Community Partnership says. In particular, the declaration of a public health emergency and subsequent eviction moratorium likely had a major impact on the inflow into the homelessness system over the past year. For example, 2020 quarterly data on individuals newly experiencing homelessness and those returning to homelessness after exiting permanent housing showed a decrease in inflow each quarter compared to fiscal year 2019. 

Meanwhile, the overall decrease in homelessness among families could be attributed to ongoing local programs, The Community Partnership says. 

The city has opened a number of smaller, family shelters in the past year as well as moved to connect families with permanent housing. According to the Community Partnership, nearly 750 families exited the homelessness system in this past year, and most were connected to rapid rehousing. Additionally, nearly, 1,000 families received services through the Homeless Prevention Program facilitated by the Department of Human Services, which is aimed at preventing people from entering or reentering the system. 

Local advocates for the unhoused have criticized the city’s ballooning use of rapid rehousing, which subsidizes families’ rents for a year before expecting them to begin making payments themselves. Families often end up back on the street after their yearlong placement in housing because they cannot afford to pick up those rent payments, which are at market rate. Some end up leaving the District altogether. (More than 40% of the people who were connected to D.C.’s homelessness system in 2019 had previously received rapid rehousing vouchers.) Yet families in rapid rehousing are not counted in the city’s point-in-time numbers. City data shows that as of February, more than 2,500 families were using rapid rehousing vouchers.

There was only a slight reduction in single individuals experiencing homelessness counted—3,947 single individuals were counted in 2020, compared to 3,871 individuals in 2021—which The Community Partnership says is likely attributable to D.C.’s eviction ban. 

The count also showed significant disparities in who is experiencing homelessness in the District. 86.5% of all adults experiencing homelessness were Black, although just under half of all residents in D.C. are Black. 4.9% of people identified as Hispanic or Latinx. 

“The [point-in-time] data clearly shows that homelessness disproportionally impacts Black people, and reminds us that homelessness is caused by oppressive systems, not by individual choices,” Jesse Rabinowitz, senior manager of policy and advocacy at Miriam’s Kitchen, tells DCist in a statement. “This data makes clear that D.C. is not meeting our shared goal to end homelessness, and this failure is particularly acute with regards to individual homelessness. Mayor Bowser’s upcoming budget must be rooted in PIT and other data, and must address the full scope of D.C.’s homelessness crisis.”

The median age among single adults was 52 with the oldest person identified being 87. The median age of children in families was five. Meanwhile, men made up more than 72% of all single adults experiencing homelessness while women made up the greatest share of all adults in families experiencing homelessness at 82.2%. 

In terms of sexual identity, 9.2% of all adults identified as LGBTQ+, with the rate being highest among youth ages 18-to-24 where 29% identified as LGBTQ+.

The count also looked at health conditions. It found that just over 30% of all adults experiencing homelessness reported a mental health disorder and 21.6% reported a chronic health condition. 16.7% reported a physical disability. Additionally, 22.6% of all adults reported experiencing domestic violence and 43.8% reported formerly living in an institutional setting, such as within the justice system or a long-term rehabilitation facility. 

37.9% of all adults counted were chronically homeless, meaning they had been experiencing homelessness for more than a year, either continuously or in separate episodes, and have a disability. 

An official report on the PIT count is expected to be released by the Metro DC Council of Governments next week, which is compiled by officials in D.C. and its surrounding jurisdictions to give a comprehensive look at homelessness in the entire region. 

This story has been updated with a statement from Jesse Rabinowitz of Miriam’s Kitchen.