01/09/2026
The Office of Homeless Services has published Citywide and Kensington figures of Sheltered and Unsheltered individuals in the Philadelphia 2025 Point-In-Time Count Summary; results can be viewed here (https://ow.ly/zaOW50XU4xs). Though more data will follow, the overwhelming takeaway from available numbers is that the crisis of homelessness is growing.
Members of Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) staff served as volunteers for this year’s Point-in-Time Count. The 2025 Count was held on January 22nd, and is a quantitative survey of people in Philadelphia who meet the criteria of experiencing homelessness: individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
The 2024 Sheltered Point-In-Time Count identified 4,215 persons in Emergency Shelter, Safe Haven, or Transitional Housing programs. In 2025, that figure reached 4,338, or a 3% increase. The 2024 Unsheltered Point-In-Time Count identified 976 persons living in public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for humans. In 2025, the figure representing unsheltered individuals rose to 1,178, or a 21% increase.
HAP staff recognizes that these figures represent real clients and the increasing need for our services. We anticipate the release of the full 2025 Point-In-Time Count Summary and learning in greater detail about the marked increase in people experiencing homelessness. HAP staff will share those results when published, and how our work, both direct service and advocacy, reduces the growing problem of homelessness.
