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Point-in-time count: Kalamazoo County records 791 people experiencing homelessness in Jan. 2025; racial disparities persist
Summary
Continuum of Care officials reported 791 people counted on the night of the 2025 point-in-time count (709 sheltered, 82 unsheltered), a 19% increase from 2024, and highlighted large racial disparities and the effect of temporary hotel sheltering.
Kalamazoo County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) presented results of the Jan. 2025 point-in-time count to commissioners on Oct. 7, reporting 791 people experiencing homelessness on the single-night snapshot. Of those, 709 were sheltered and 82 were unsheltered. The total was a 19% increase from 2024 and is the largest total recorded in the county since at least 2011.
CoC director Patrice Griffin and data lead Carrie Bosch said the jump in sheltered individuals is partly attributable to an emergency “heads-in-beds” hotel initiative run around the time of the count during extreme cold weather; organizers sheltered 146 people in one week whose prior status was unsheltered. Bosch said the unsheltered tally of 82 was the lowest unsheltered total since 2018 but cautioned that the hotel initiative likely reduced the unsheltered count on the night of the census.
Key numbers and trends reported:
- Total counted (Jan. 2025): 791 people (709 sheltered; 82 unsheltered). This is a 19% increase over 2024. - Household types: 534 were single adults, 254 were adults in families with children, and 3 were unaccompanied youth under 18. - System capacity on the night of the count: CoC-managed programs provided 1,377 beds across emergency shelter, transitional housing and permanent programs. Emergency shelter capacity was 691 beds, 91% of which were occupied. - Permanent housing supports: 516 persons were in permanent housing programs funded or tracked by the CoC (including rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing).
The CoC also raised alarm over racial disparities in homelessness. Griffin and Bosch said the racial composition of the unhoused population differs markedly from county demographics: while roughly 76% of Kalamazoo County residents identify as white, only about 41% of the unhoused population did so in the count. By contrast, people identifying as Black or African American made up about 42% of the counted unhoused population while representing roughly 12% of the county’s overall population.
Griffin told commissioners the CoC is finalizing a five‑year plan to end homelessness and continues to administer HUD, state and local funding streams for shelter, rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing. The CoC said the winter hotel program was funded in part by Kalamazoo County, the city of Kalamazoo and the CoC itself.
