A yearly homelessness census kicks off in Central Florida
By Molly Duerig
January 27, 2026 at 7:21 AM EST
This week, more than 200 volunteers are helping advocates collect data to quantify homelessness in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
The Point-in-Time Count is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual census of people experiencing different types of homelessness.
According to data from last year’s count, a total of 2,726 adults and children in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties were experiencing homelessness. About 60% of those people were staying in shelters. The other 1,090, or about 40% of the total, were unsheltered.
Brian Postlewait is chief operating officer for the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. He said the region’s PIT data show, in the last five years, unsheltered homelessness has more than doubled. Sheltered homeless numbers have remained stable.
RELATED: Cold weather shelters open as temperatures plummet
Every year, Postlewait said, data collected for Central Florida’s PIT Count points to the same two conclusions: “One is that 75% of the people, approximately, in our community, are experiencing homelessness for the very first time. And only 20% of them are continuously homeless.”
Most people shift in and out of homelessness, Postlewait said. Those remaining homeless long-term tend to be people who also have a number of other vulnerabilities creating barriers to stable housing, such as a disability.
In Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, 606 people were considered “chronically homeless” in 2025, representing about 22% of all homeless adults and children.
A map visualizing 2025 PIT data shows survey locations and spots where homelessness is becoming more visible in Central Florida. (807x666, AR: 1.2117117117117118)
“I think there's a huge misunderstanding amongst the general population about who is homeless,” Postlewait said. “When we see homelessness now, we're seeing seniors that have to choose between rent and medicine. We see young adults who are aging out of care. Some of them are experiencing family rejection because of their LGBTQ status.”
RELATED: Central Florida older adults, seniors make up fastest-growing homeless population
Scott Billue is also familiar with misconceptions about homelessness. Billue is founder and CEO of Matthew’s Hope, a faith-based homelessness outreach nonprofit based in Orange and Brevard counties. In Brevard, PIT data collection efforts began last week and will continue through Wednesday.
Billue said his staff are seeing 30% more homeless people this year, compared to last year. And of those experiencing homelessness for the first time, Billue said, about 35% are “baby boomers.”
“A lot of it's just due to a death of a spouse, and there just was not enough money to keep living the way they were,” Billue said. “And a lot of those folks are almost too proud to ask for help, and so it takes a lot more effort to get them even to come in for the shelter. …. The general consensus out there is that you had to have done something wrong to be homeless.”
Anxiety levels for homeless populations served by Matthew’s Hope are “off the charts” lately, Billue said. He attributes much of that anxiety to a state law, enacted in 2024, that bans public camping and sleeping.
Last year’s PIT Count was the first since Florida’s camping ban took effect. For the first time in years, the PIT data for 2025 showed a decline in unsheltered homelessness for all but two Central Florida counties. Between 2019 and 2024, unsheltered homelessness in the region grew dramatically.
The recent, apparent decline is likely a “chilling effect” from the new law banning public camping and sleeping, according to homeless services providers. The law appears to be driving homeless people to retreat farther back into the woods, away from public view.
Billue said the camping ban makes it more difficult to quantify how many people are truly experiencing homelessness. “It has gotten a lot tougher, because people are in constant motion.”
RELATED: Florida’s Camping Ban: A look at its impact 6 months later
People help the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida tally numbers for a previous PIT Count in 2024. (2556x3011, AR: 0.8488874128196613)
When it comes to getting out of homelessness, Postlewait said, one factor creates the biggest barrier.
“At the end of the day, it's the cost of housing that keeps people from resolving their homeless situation quickly,” Postlewait said.
“If we look over the past five years, disabilities haven't doubled, unemployment hasn't doubled, addictions haven't doubled,” Postlewait said. “But we know what has gone up is the cost of renting a home in Central Florida. And it really is our broken housing system that is at work putting more people on the streets.”
RELATED: What can Florida do to address housing affordability?
The PIT Count likely underestimates true homelessness, especially among unsheltered populations, due to “logistical challenges” and the fact that participation in the survey is voluntary, according to the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness.
Another factor is the timing of the count. It’s held in January, when temperatures are typically cold in many parts of the country — driving more homeless people into shelters and, potentially, skewing some of the data, according to a 2017 analysis by The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.
Still, the PIT Count data can provide some critical insight into current community needs, including where investing more resources might be necessary.
“I think it's just one more opportunity to remind folks that people are out on the street every single day of the year in Central Florida. And we need to be working together as a community to bring more people inside,” Postlewait said.
The Point-in-Time Count is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual census of people experiencing different types of homelessness.
According to data from last year’s count, a total of 2,726 adults and children in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties were experiencing homelessness. About 60% of those people were staying in shelters. The other 1,090, or about 40% of the total, were unsheltered.
Brian Postlewait is chief operating officer for the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. He said the region’s PIT data show, in the last five years, unsheltered homelessness has more than doubled. Sheltered homeless numbers have remained stable.
RELATED: Cold weather shelters open as temperatures plummet
Every year, Postlewait said, data collected for Central Florida’s PIT Count points to the same two conclusions: “One is that 75% of the people, approximately, in our community, are experiencing homelessness for the very first time. And only 20% of them are continuously homeless.”
Most people shift in and out of homelessness, Postlewait said. Those remaining homeless long-term tend to be people who also have a number of other vulnerabilities creating barriers to stable housing, such as a disability.
In Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, 606 people were considered “chronically homeless” in 2025, representing about 22% of all homeless adults and children.
A map visualizing 2025 PIT data shows survey locations and spots where homelessness is becoming more visible in Central Florida. (807x666, AR: 1.2117117117117118)
“I think there's a huge misunderstanding amongst the general population about who is homeless,” Postlewait said. “When we see homelessness now, we're seeing seniors that have to choose between rent and medicine. We see young adults who are aging out of care. Some of them are experiencing family rejection because of their LGBTQ status.”
RELATED: Central Florida older adults, seniors make up fastest-growing homeless population
Scott Billue is also familiar with misconceptions about homelessness. Billue is founder and CEO of Matthew’s Hope, a faith-based homelessness outreach nonprofit based in Orange and Brevard counties. In Brevard, PIT data collection efforts began last week and will continue through Wednesday.
Billue said his staff are seeing 30% more homeless people this year, compared to last year. And of those experiencing homelessness for the first time, Billue said, about 35% are “baby boomers.”
“A lot of it's just due to a death of a spouse, and there just was not enough money to keep living the way they were,” Billue said. “And a lot of those folks are almost too proud to ask for help, and so it takes a lot more effort to get them even to come in for the shelter. …. The general consensus out there is that you had to have done something wrong to be homeless.”
Anxiety levels for homeless populations served by Matthew’s Hope are “off the charts” lately, Billue said. He attributes much of that anxiety to a state law, enacted in 2024, that bans public camping and sleeping.
Last year’s PIT Count was the first since Florida’s camping ban took effect. For the first time in years, the PIT data for 2025 showed a decline in unsheltered homelessness for all but two Central Florida counties. Between 2019 and 2024, unsheltered homelessness in the region grew dramatically.
The recent, apparent decline is likely a “chilling effect” from the new law banning public camping and sleeping, according to homeless services providers. The law appears to be driving homeless people to retreat farther back into the woods, away from public view.
Billue said the camping ban makes it more difficult to quantify how many people are truly experiencing homelessness. “It has gotten a lot tougher, because people are in constant motion.”
RELATED: Florida’s Camping Ban: A look at its impact 6 months later
People help the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida tally numbers for a previous PIT Count in 2024. (2556x3011, AR: 0.8488874128196613)
When it comes to getting out of homelessness, Postlewait said, one factor creates the biggest barrier.
“At the end of the day, it's the cost of housing that keeps people from resolving their homeless situation quickly,” Postlewait said.
“If we look over the past five years, disabilities haven't doubled, unemployment hasn't doubled, addictions haven't doubled,” Postlewait said. “But we know what has gone up is the cost of renting a home in Central Florida. And it really is our broken housing system that is at work putting more people on the streets.”
RELATED: What can Florida do to address housing affordability?
The PIT Count likely underestimates true homelessness, especially among unsheltered populations, due to “logistical challenges” and the fact that participation in the survey is voluntary, according to the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness.
Another factor is the timing of the count. It’s held in January, when temperatures are typically cold in many parts of the country — driving more homeless people into shelters and, potentially, skewing some of the data, according to a 2017 analysis by The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.
Still, the PIT Count data can provide some critical insight into current community needs, including where investing more resources might be necessary.
“I think it's just one more opportunity to remind folks that people are out on the street every single day of the year in Central Florida. And we need to be working together as a community to bring more people inside,” Postlewait said.