Montco Conducting Count Of Homeless Population As Numbers Rise

NORRISTOWN, PA — Montgomery County officials will conduct their Point in Time count on Jan. 22, an annual effort to quantify the number of individuals in communities throughout the county who are experiencing homelessness.

Officials call it a "vital effort to understand and support individuals experiencing homelessness."

Homelessness has continued to increase in Montgomery County as it has across much of the nation for years, with income inequality, the cost of housing, and unchanged wages despite inflation putting huge chunks of the population on the brink.

The 2025 Point in Time count found 534 homeless individuals, as compared to 467 in 2024 and 357 in 2023.

There was also a 38 percent increase in homeless children and a 62 percent increase in homeless individuals over the age of 55.

Officials also found racial disparities, as some 47 percent of all homeless individuals were Black, according to Your Way Home statistics, despite Black individuals only comprising about 10 percent of the county's population.

Addressing housing struggles and the homeless crisis has been one of the foremost goals of the county over the past two years. Lansdale has broken ground on a $1.3 million homeless shelter and then opened a special winter shelter, while similar projects are in the works in Norristown, Pottstown, and West Norriton. A Days Inn in Pottstown was also transformed into an emergency shelter.

The Point in Time count could help officials better understand if these renewed efforts have had a significant impact on the growing numbers of residents without shelter.

During the count, Your Way Home Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services will be working together to distribute survival items to the homeless. And they're gathering donations from the public.

Counts are almost always on the short end of reality, as not every person without a home can be reliably found, and numbers inevitably fluctuate as the year goes on.

To donate to the "wish list" of items, see here.

Volunteers will conduct the count on Jan. 22 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.