This story is part of a collaborative initiative of independent local news outlets working towards a more informed and engaged Central Florida.
The latest results on an annual census of people experiencing homelessness in a region has shown mixed results for the counties of Volusia, Flagler and Polk.
The federal process, known as the Point-In-Time Count, provides a snapshot of the total numbers of unhoused persons on a given night.
For Polk County, the reported total of individuals battling homelessness is now 804 — this is a more than 7% increase from last year.
The Homeless Coalition of Polk County is in charge of reporting the count and distributing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the local homeless services centers. Executive Director Bridget Engleman said a series of events in the region have led to this rise.
“The lack of affordable housing, we have loss of employment, we're facing economic instability following the pandemic. And then the hurricane displacement — that’s just another barrier. The fact of the matter is that disasters displaced families,” she said.
Engleman said her team also expanded outreach to more remote areas, increasing the count. The staff is already planning for next year’s census, with a focus on finding individuals actively hiding in illegal encampments to avoid arrest under Florida’s new camping ban, which prohibits people from sleeping in public spaces.
For the counties of Volusia and Flagler, which are counted as one region, that number was 1,083 – an almost 7% decrease from the 2024 count.
But Savannah Jane Griffin, Executive Director at the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, a homeless shelter, said her staff believes the actual number to be much higher.
“What was different this year from previous years is it was the coldest week that we've experienced in a long time. And so, that presented some challenges when we were going out into the community to survey the unsheltered homeless. We believe that impacted the numbers,” she said.
Griffin said she is concerned that Florida's camping ban also affected the count.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
