As temperatures dropped across Chicago on Thursday night, city officials and volunteers conducted the annual Point-in-Time Count to assess the number of people experiencing homelessness. The count, which is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, helps determine federal funding needs and informs local outreach efforts.
Mayor Brandon Johnson described the count as “part of the city’s data-driven approach to understanding and addressing homelessness.” He added, “To alleviate and end homelessness, we need to know the scope of the challenge.”
Teams from the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), along with service providers and volunteers, surveyed both sheltered and unsheltered individuals throughout the city. They distributed items such as hand warmers, socks, gloves, food or gift cards, and Ventra transit cards. As they moved through neighborhoods like Streeterville late into the night, wind chills reached as low as 14 degrees below zero.
Among those seeking shelter was Tyree Lewis, who has experienced periods of homelessness for about 20 years. After developing frostbite in his legs from sleeping outside, he sought care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. While hospital staff treated him for his injuries and allowed him to stay overnight in a waiting room along with others escaping the cold, Lewis noted uncertainty about where he would go next morning.
Lewis said that while some shelters are available, their conditions can be challenging: “Some shelters aren’t the best of places to go either.” He emphasized a need for better shelters in more areas like Streeterville with social services that address realistic needs for homeless people. “Their physical condition is different,” he said. “People understand ‘being homeless’ — that stands for itself — but the specific conditions that people go through throughout the course of the day isn’t something that people understand.”
Other individuals shared similar experiences during Thursday’s count. Marlin Smith said he has been unhoused for two decades but does not receive services from the city: “I don’t ask for nothing — I survive on my own.” James Orange reported being without housing since last September after leaving a hospital stay; although appreciative of outreach workers’ efforts elsewhere in Chicago, he rarely sees them near his current location.
Sterling—who did not provide his full name—participated in survey questions at a Walgreens store before receiving gloves and gift cards from DFSS workers. He described daily life as difficult: “It’s a challenge every day to survive on the streets of Chicago,” Sterling said.
Not all participants answered every question posed by volunteers; some were simply counted based on observation or brief interaction.
Linsey Maughan, spokesperson for DFSS—which leads much of Chicago’s annual count—stated via email that preliminary findings should be available by early spring with a comprehensive report expected over summer.
The most recent full report estimated 7,452 people experiencing homelessness during last year’s count—6,136 living in shelters or programs and 1,316 unsheltered on streets or other locations not intended for habitation.
Advocacy groups argue these figures do not capture everyone affected by housing instability. A new report from Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness estimates around 58,000 people faced homelessness locally in 2024—a figure much higher than what official counts reflect because it includes those staying temporarily with friends or family (“doubled up”) or who experience homelessness at any point during a year rather than just one night.
Maughan acknowledged differences between these methodologies: while both sets of data inform planning decisions within DFSS programs, she noted that “the point-in-time count isn’t inclusive of everyone who may experience homelessness in one year.”
Lewis himself has stayed doubled up when possible but remains on waitlists for permanent housing placements: “the only natural place is [the] hospital,” he said regarding where to seek warmth overnight when options run out.
