Nashville’s latest count of people experiencing homelessness found 1,916 individuals staying in shelters, encampments and on the streets. That figure is lower than recent years and continues a downward trend since at least 2016.
To conduct the annual survey, roughly 100 volunteers fanned out across the city on the night of Jan. 27, visiting shelters and camps, among other places. The temperature was just above freezing. Officials consider the annual “point in time” count a limited — but consistent — snapshot of homelessness. It does not count people who are in situations such as couch surfing, doubling up with family members, or in motels for the night.
But the figures are “essential” and do inform how Metro provides services, says Jay Servais, interim director of the Metro Homeless Impact Division.
“It gives us a fresh look at needs, new trends and the latest trajectory of the community,” he wrote in a news release.
The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency oversees each year’s count. The latest breakdown finds:
- 71% of unhoused Nashvillians are male
- 12% cited the coronavirus pandemic as the primary cause behind their loss of housing
- among unsheltered people, 16% have a pet — a factor that prevents some from accessing shelters
- families with at least one child made up 4% of the 2022 unhoused count
MDHA notes that other federal agencies, like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Education use broader definitions of homelessness that aren’t captured by the point-in-time.
The agency has shared a list of ways to volunteer and help unhoused people as part of its annual count, online here.
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