2025 Point‑in‑Time count: PSU presents data sources and warns about by‑name list and deduplication limits

Portland State University—s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative (HRAC) presented findings from the 2025 Point‑in‑Time (PIT) count to the Homelessness and Housing Committee on Nov. 4 and underscored important differences among the datasets that feed regional homelessness totals.

Dr. Marissa Zapata, HRAC director, explained that the PIT count submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) consists of a sheltered count (drawn from HMIS and supplemental non‑HMIS surveys) and — in the years HUD requires it — a street count survey. HUD allows jurisdictions a 7‑day recall window to ask people where they slept, which adds complexity to one‑night counts and requires outreach staff and trained surveyors.

Zapata reported the Multnomah County sheltered totals for the PIT submission as: emergency shelter — 2,947 (this number includes domestic‑violence shelters), safe haven — 17, and transitional housing — 650. For the unsheltered component, HRAC recorded 1,822 people who met HUD—s unsheltered criteria based on the street count survey. Multnomah County then used a modified local by‑name list and identified an additional 5,090 unsheltered people; HRAC noted the joint office submitted the combined unsheltered number to HUD (1,822 + 5,090) while also warning the two datasets cannot be perfectly deduplicated.

"There is nothing a researcher likes less than putting together datasets for different purposes," Zapata said, explaining tradeoffs: the street survey is field‑based and limited by who participates, while by‑name lists are administrative tools that may capture people missed in a one‑night outreach exercise.

HRAC highlighted several caveats for interpretation: some shelters do not report to HMIS and are counted via supplemental shelter surveys; not all jurisdictions submitted by‑name lists (Clackamas and Washington counties did not submit by‑name list data in this cycle, HRAC said); samples and denominators differ across datasets; and some questions (for example, domestic violence status or substance use) are inconsistently asked across systems, which affects percentage calculations.

Zapata also presented demographic trends and changes since 2023: the BIPOC share of people experiencing homelessness increased faster than the white share; chronic substance use disorder and serious mental illness were recorded for thousands of people (HRAC cautioned that missing data affects percentage calculations); and most people surveyed reported last being housed within the region. HRAC found a small number of people who reported being housed out of state, and researchers said that while out‑of‑state residents receive disproportionate attention in public discussion, the count shows most people are local to the tri‑county or regional area.

Committee members asked for follow‑up briefings on subpopulations, on the by‑name list methodology and data quality, and on which shelters participate in HMIS reporting. HRAC said those briefings and further disaggregated data are forthcoming.

Key numbers (HRAC presentation): sheltered (Multnomah County) — emergency shelter 2,947; safe haven 17; transitional housing 650. Unsheltered — street count survey 1,822; county modified by‑name list 5,090; combined unsheltered submitted to HUD reported as 6,912 (HRAC cautioned about deduplication uncertainty).