Sporting headlamps, puffer jackets and hand warmers, Courtney and Mike Hendrix scouted through downtown Fort Worth, hearing an array of life stories as they traveled.
The Fort Worth couple met people sheltering inside of their vehicles or in tents at encampments under highways as temperatures Thursday night dipped into the low 30s. They talked to veterans, families and young adults, asking where they’d be sleeping and how long they’d been experiencing homelessness.
The Hendrixes were two of nearly 500 volunteers across Tarrant and Parker counties who joined forces the night of Jan. 23 to conduct the Point in Time Count, an annual federally mandated count of people experiencing homelessness.
Led by Partnership Home, the lead agency in Tarrant County’s homelessness response, the count is designed to take a snapshot of the number of people and families experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
Partnership Home CEO Lauren King, Courtney’s sister, joined the Hendrixes along their route, which covered parts of downtown. The group introduced themselves to the people they met along the way, asking a series of questions.
Through conversation, volunteers collected data such as the person’s name, age, gender, race and veteran status. They also asked where the person had lived before and why they were experiencing homelessness.
King noted that it’s common for people to not want to share their personal information with volunteers. During the first half of the night, she and the Hendrixes encountered about a dozen people who declined to be surveyed. In those cases, volunteers conduct “observational interviews,” where they document basic demographic data based on what they see.
“It’s hard because, as volunteers, you’re going out just one night a year. We don’t have the trust built with people,” King said. “You’re asking pretty personal questions and getting them to answer that, so that makes it a little bit difficult. But then you have others who are willing to tell you their life story.”
Count helps city officials ‘know what we’re up against’
Throughout the night, other groups of volunteers — some sporting blue shirts reading “everybody counts” — walked through unsheltered locations like cars, parks, streets and sidewalks across Tarrant and Parker counties to visit with people who appeared to be experiencing homelessness. To get the conversation started and verify whether individuals were unhoused, they led with the question, “Where are you sleeping tonight?”
The data collected through the count is often used to advocate for local or federal funding, in addition to raising awareness and identifying trends of homelessness, according to The Homeless Network.
Several city staff and at least one city official joined the count. Fort Worth City Council member Elizabeth Beck said this was at least the third time she has volunteered to participate in the Point in Time Count. The issue of homelessness is personal to her, as her late father experienced homelessness intermittently for the majority of her life.
“When you know someone and you see how it happens, it makes you want to tackle homelessness,” Beck said. “You can’t win the war if you don’t win the battle. This is how we know what we’re up against. We go out and count.”
Kacey Bess, director of Fort Worth’s neighborhood services department, joined the count along with about 10 staff members from her department. As a first-time participant, Bess said she was excited to connect with people experiencing homelessness, and she was heartened to see so many others come out on a cold night to volunteer as well.
She added that the count provides invaluable insight to “the Fort Worth that we don’t always talk about,” and provides a firsthand look at what people experiencing homelessness deal with on a daily basis.
“Being able to see the actual people and put a face to what we’re doing, to me, is more impactful than just going by numbers,” Bess said. “I hope I take away a deeper appreciation for what we’re doing in neighborhood services.”
Tarrant officials expect to see homeless numbers remain stable
Although the Point in Time Count provides organizations like Partnership Home, formerly known as the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, a snapshot of what homelessness looks like in the community, it’s not the only data point the group relies upon, King said.
“We really feel like annual data is more important to understand the total for the year,” King said. “How many people came in, how many people moved out, what caused it? … So we’re looking at more nuances now.”
The Point in Time Count is typically done toward the end of January when funds may run out for people who receive intermittent income, King said. It is also done on a winter night when people experiencing homelessness may be more inclined to seek shelter, King said.
“Generally after eight o’clock, people are where they’re going to be. So that helps us find people (without) running into the same person over and over again,” King said.
Counties across Texas typically conduct the count during the same night each year. However, frigid temperatures sweeping through Texas have led Dallas and Collin counties to reschedule their homelessness count to Jan. 30. King said she didn’t consider rescheduling the Tarrant and Parker counties count, noting that previous years had seen much colder temperatures.
Last year, Tarrant’s homelessness population dipped for the first time since 2021, with volunteers recording a 12% decrease between 2023 and 2024. Data from the 2024 Point in Time Count showed 2,390 people were experiencing homelessness across the county, with 81% of them in Fort Worth.
Although it can be difficult to predict what the Point in Time Count will find, King said she expects Tarrant’s homeless population to have remained fairly level since last January. She noted that 2024 saw a decline in homelessness after the county received an influx of funding for rental assistance and affordable housing projects.
“Obviously, I would love to see a decline, but I don’t know if that’s realistic,” King said.
Results from the count won’t be available for several months, as Partnership Home staff work to analyze and refine the data collected Jan. 23. The organization will present findings on Fort Worth’s homeless population from this year’s count May 21 at Texas Wesleyan University, King said. Findings on Arlington’s homeless population will be presented May 31 at the Tarrant County Subcourthouse in Arlington.
This year’s Point in Time Count comes one week after Fort Worth rolled out a handful of new projects meant to improve the city’s response to homelessness. Those initiatives, presented during a Jan. 14 council meeting, include:
- Implementing citywide signage to discourage residents from donating to panhandlers.
- Increasing community outreach and education on homelessness.
- Developing an online landing page to consolidate the city’s resources for homelessness and to accept donations from residents wanting to help those experiencing homelessness.
During that meeting, several council members expressed that tackling homelessness is a top priority for them, with some saying they hope to implement new measures to better enforce ordinances against homeless camping.
“At what point are we going to hold them accountable?” District 4 council member Charlie Lauersdorf said. “I believe in the compassion piece, absolutely, but I believe we as a city need to do better on the enforcement piece, and if that means changing some of our policies, I think we certainly need to explore that more.”
Beck, the council member at the event, said the Point in Time Count will help inform the city’s new response to homelessness.
“You have to know the problem to solve it,” Beck said. “This just gives us that data point of how many we have, who they are and where they are.”
Man hopes data will bring change, more resources
Halfway through the night, King and the Hendrixes came across Mike Massey, who identified himself as a 58-year-old white man. The tent in front of Massey’s belonged to his daughter, he said, and another tent a few yards away belonged to his ex-wife.
The family and their dog sought shelter in their tents across the street from the now-vacant public housing complex Butler Place. The family left their previous apartment following a bed bug infestation and have been experiencing homelessness since August 2024, Massey said.
His ex-wife’s life-threatening medical condition and their dog’s aggression to strangers make finding housing a challenge for the trio, Massey said, but he hopes the Point in Time Count data will bring more resources to help change that.
“As far as what the city can do, I don’t know what to tell them,” Massey said with a chuckle. “I don’t want to be out here any more than they want me to be out here. It just is what it is at the moment. I’m stuck — can’t do much about it.”
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.