Volunteers Needed for 2025 Homelessness Count in Metro Phoenix
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Volunteers Needed for 2025 Homelessness Count in Metro Phoenix

Over 1,000 participants sought to assist in Maricopa County’s annual point-in-time effort to document and address homelessness.

Metro Phoenix officials are calling for volunteers to participate in the 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) homelessness count, an annual effort led by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) to gather crucial data on the region’s unhoused population.

The count, scheduled to take place before sunrise on January 28, aims to document the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in shelters and on the streets. Volunteers will survey areas such as parks, alleys, riverbeds, and doorways where unhoused individuals are known to reside.

The Importance of Data Collection

“Gathering data is an important tool in creating regional solutions to the problem,” said Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke, MAG chair, in a press release. “Monitoring and assessing trends from year to year helps Valley leaders better understand the issues and create meaningful policies to ease the strain on our communities.”

MAG coordinates the PIT count on behalf of the Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care (CoC), a federal program dedicated to ending homelessness.

The January 2024 count recorded 9,435 individuals experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County, reflecting a small decrease from the previous year. Notably, it was the first count since 2019 to document more people in shelters (5,359) than unsheltered (4,076).

Volunteer Participation

Over 1,000 volunteers are needed for this year’s count. The role involves brief surveys of unhoused individuals, providing a clearer picture of homelessness in the region. Local governments, nonprofits, and faith-based groups supply much of the workforce, but community members are encouraged to join the effort. Interested residents can contact their city’s PIT coordinator through MAG’s volunteer resources.

“We have worked extremely hard … to ensure that there are adequate places for people experiencing homelessness to find shelter as they look for somewhere to live on a permanent basis,” said Vicki Phillips, CoC Board co-chair. “We are proud of this progress but recognize that there is still much work to do.”

Volunteering for the PIT count offers a meaningful opportunity to contribute to long-term solutions for homelessness in the Valley.