Homelessness sees nationwide increase, Wisconsin county shows different trend

RACINE COUNTY, Wis. - Whether staying in a shelter or struggling on the street, homelessness remains one of the country's biggest issues.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released new numbers showing an uptick in people without a place to live.

The data showed more than 770,000 people were homeless on a single night in January 2024 compared to 2023.

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But the numbers are looking a little different in Racine County. In fact, they're the opposite.

Every January, agencies known as the Continuum of Care go out on one night and count those living in shelters and on the street. These are called "point-in-time estimates."

The results in 2023 found 241 people were homeless. Fast-forward to the same night. A year later, that number dropped to 227.

Leaders with homeless outreach say that's a positive trend, but it does come with a slight drawback. They say the overall number of homeless people was down, including those staying in shelters, but the amount of people living on the streets went up.

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Activists say the biggest barrier is affordable housing, especially in a time when the cost of living is so high.

Those involved in street outreach say they're going out again at the end of January for the next point-in-time count.

They say they hope to see the same downward trend, but they don't have high expectations.