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Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari Participates in Annual Point in Time Count

Her team will be speaking to unsheltered individuals, getting firsthand stories on our homelessness crisis.

Phoenix, AZ – The Point in Time Homelessness Street Count is a manual count of those experiencing homelessness over one night in January. Often referred to as the PIT Count, this national count takes place on the third Tuesday of the month, with some exceptions. 

“As the representative for some of the largest shelters in Phoenix and the area formerly known as ‘The Zone,’ I’ll be out talking to unsheltered individuals to better understand the current challenges to attaining safer shelter,” said Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari. “From our new Safe Outdoor Space to investing in behavioral health team engagements at our parks and intersections, I’m hoping today’s interactions can better inform future policy and help us make data-driven decisions to address our homelessness crisis,” she added.

The Point in Time Homelessness Street Count will be conducted on Tuesday, January 23, at 6 a.m. in communities across the Valley. Hundreds of volunteers will scan alleys, parks, riverbeds, building doorways, and other areas in an effort to get an accurate count of the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. 

In 2023, the count found 9,642 people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County on a single night. These numbers represented a two-year increase of 7 percent in overall homelessness in the region. That is 4,908 people living unsheltered and 4,734 in shelters. 

The count is coordinated by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and uses volunteer teams that include city, county, and state representatives, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, and private residents. 

The results from the count will not be available until April 2024; this is to allow time to verify information and check for any possible duplicate entries of people. A homeless person could be surveyed in one area of the Valley early in the morning and be observed by another group in a different grid later that day, so it’s important to curate the data during the count and that takes time. 

Councilwoman Ansari Point in Time Outreach Details:

• Date: January 23rd
• Time: 6 a.m.– 8 a.m.
• Meeting Location: Burton Barr Library, 1221 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004
• Media Contact: Maria Lopez, Councilwoman Ansari's Chief of Staff, maria.lopez@phoenix.gov, (623)703-6830