Mary Ann Priester
Senior Management Analyst
Mecklenburg County Community Support Services
Since its inception in 2019 , the “One Number” has served as the primary benchmark for the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Generated from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the One Number encompasses individuals enrolled in Emergency Shelter (ES), Transitional Housing (TH), Street Outreach (SO), Permanent Housing (PH) (if no move-in date to housing is recorded yet) and Coordinated Entry (CE) programs in HMIS. It includes both those experiencing sheltered homelessness and a portion of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It also provides a comprehensive By-Name List of each person experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
The Housing Data Snapshot, the hub for the latest data related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, not only provides an overall count and demographics of homelessness by household type and subpopulation, it also highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness.
This week’s blog post provides the most recent One Number update; a synopsis of recent dashboard updates; the latest One Number trends and analysis; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
LATEST DATA & TRENDS
As of January 31, 2025, there are 2,984 individuals experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This total includes 1,974 single individuals, 144 unaccompanied youth, 224 households with minor children (totaling 734 people), and 37 families with multiple adults (totaling 62 people). Included in the total of 2,984 individuals, 164 are homeless Veterans, and 764 are individuals who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Based on these data, the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness right now (and therefore, the minimum number of housing units and/or subsidies needed) in Charlotte-Mecklenburg is 2,984.
Considering inflow (into homelessness) and outflow (out of homelessness), here are some noteworthy trends:
- Between December 2024 and January 2025, there was a 254 person decrease in the total number of people experiencing homelessness. There has been a 4% (or 112 person) decrease in overall homelessness since January 2024. As context, as part of the 2025 Point-in-Time Count, staff reached out to each person enrolled in a street outreach program and in the coordinated entry program to verify they were still experiencing literal homelessness. If they could not be contacted or reported they were not experiencing homelessness, they were closed out and removed from the community by-name list resulting in a decrease in the number of people experiencing unsheltered and sheltered homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
- Between December 2024 and January 2025, homelessness decreased among all household types and subpopulations except multiple adult households and people who meet the criteria for chronic homelessness. The number of persons in households with minor children decreased by 223 people. The number of single individuals decreased by 51; and the number of unaccompanied youth decreased by 12. The number of veterans experiencing homelessness decreased by 25. The number of people in multiple adult households increased by 5 people; and the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness increased by 13 individuals. Finally, the median number of days it takes to exit homelessness into housing decreased from 344 days to 334 days and the average number of days it takes to exit homelessness into housing decreased from 664 days to 575 days. The median tells us the typical number of days it takes to exit homelessness into housing while the average includes long-stayers in shelter and people experiencing chronic homelessness.
- In January 2025, 917 individuals entered homelessness (inflow) and 759 people exited (outflow). Of the 917 individuals entering homelessness, 68% (626) were newly identified, 9% (83) returned to homelessness from permanent housing and 23% (208) returned from an inactive status. Of the 759 individuals exiting homelessness, 25% (189) moved to permanent housing and 75% (570) exited homelessness to an inactive status, which means that they had not been engaged in services for the previous 30 days.
- According to the most recent One Number data, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, individuals who identify as Black/African American continue to experience homelessness at rates much higher than their proportion of the Mecklenburg County population (72% vs. 33%) while individuals who identify as White, non-Hispanic experience homelessness at a rate much lower than their prevalence in the population (16% vs 45%). Individuals who identify as Hispanic/Latino only have a prevalence of 3% in the homeless population but comprise 14% of the Mecklenburg County population; this reflects a possible underrepresentation of the people who experience homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and identify as Hispanic/Latino.
SO, WHAT
The One Number is the best snapshot available for the number of people actively experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. It provides the most accurate minimum number of people experiencing homeless and provides insights into the minimum number of housing units and subsidies needed today to address their homelessness. These data also provide timely insights into the number of people flowing into and out of the homeless services system by illuminating resource needs and opportunities for system improvement. During the month of January, while we have seen a decrease in overall homelessness as a result of direct follow up with hundreds of people to determine where they slept on the night of the Point-in-Time count, we saw an increase in the number of people flowing into homelessness (most newly homeless) and an increase in the number of people flowing out of homelessness (mostly to inactive status).The number of people who exited to permanent housing increased from December to January but is much lower than the number of permanent housing exits we saw in January 2024 (310 vs. 189). These data continue to suggest that not only do we need additional community resources dedicated to preventing people from entering homelessness; we also need additional funding for housing subsidies and case management, additional Housing Choice Vouchers, and additional affordable units to support people in their rapid exit from homelessness.
