Overview
- Jurisdictions across the U.S. and Guam conducted late‑January, single‑night tallies, with thousands of trained outreach workers and volunteers canvassing pre‑dawn hours to survey and count people in shelters and outdoors.
- Severe cold reshaped operations in several places, including San Antonio, which canceled its unsheltered canvass and redirected teams to temporary overflow shelters, while Indianapolis officials noted more people likely moved indoors.
- San Francisco shifted from overnight to a 5–10:30 a.m. count and limited participation to trained staff and outreach workers, adding on‑the‑spot surveys; city officials call it an accuracy upgrade, and advocates warn of potential undercounts and less transparency.
- Officials and experts underscore that HUD’s method excludes people doubled up, paying for motels themselves, or briefly in hospitals or jail, a constraint Nevada’s Washoe County says contributes to undercounts.
- San Diego mobilized roughly 1,700 counters, Detroit and Jacksonville mounted large volunteer efforts, and Utah added steps to better find unsheltered families; data now enters verification, with results expected later this spring or summer.