AUGUSTA – State officials and service providers are gearing up this week to gather the newest data available on the state of homelessness in Maine next month.

On Jan. 22, 2025, providers and coordinators will conduct the annual Point-In-Time of Homeless in Maine Count, an annual assessment of the number of homeless people in the state.

“Making homelessness rare and brief in Maine when it happens is the aim of all of our work,” said MaineHousing Director of Homeless Initiatives Kelly Watson. “The annual Point-In-Time Count is an important part of that work. We are grateful for the many people and organizations who make it happen and who work every day to find solutions to homelessness in Maine.”

The annual count is reported to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most service providers cite the number when describing the scope of the problem of homelessness in the state, and HUD uses the number as a factor in determining annual grant allocations to Maine. 

But advocates have long criticized that the figure is only a single snapshot and doesn’t present an accurate picture of the number of homeless in Maine.

Since February 2022 MaineHousing, the nonprofit that serves as the state’s housing authority, has been partnering with Built for Zero, a national organization built around a movement to eliminate homelessness nationwide.

MaineHousing, following guidance from Built for Zero, has set up nine “hub coordinators” spread throughout the state to work with local service providers and state officials. 

The goal, according to MaineHousing and Built for Zero, is to improve coordination among providers to collect more accurate data all year long, not just on a single date. 

“The annual Point-In-Time Count and year-round data quality improvement should be complementary,” said Region 1 Hub Coordinator Abigail Woods, of York County Community Action. “The Point-In-Time Count is important for federal funding and to bring broader attention to homelessness; year-round data collection is important for the most accurate possible picture of homelessness in Maine at any given time.”

Hub coordinators have said the current plan is to have yearlong data available starting on June 30, 2025.

For now, providers are still eager to get as accurate a count as possible. They are asking anyone who knows someone who is experiencing homelessness to encourage them to seek out local providers on Jan. 22 and participate in the count.

Anyone wishing to donate money to the Point-In-Time Count work or volunteer to help may visit Maine’s Point-In-Time website to learn more.