The National Alliance to End Homelessness released an independent analysis showing a 6.7 percent drop in the nationwide homeless population count compared to the previous year, representing 49,000 people. This marks the second consecutive year of homelessness decreases, and the largest single-year national decrease since 2007.
According to the Alliance: “There are likely multiple reasons for these shifts rooted in factors such as calming rental markets and the effectiveness of homeless services. Recent efforts by the Trump Administration threaten this progress.”
Read the analysis here (and how it relates to HUD’s recent press release on the homelessness count).
What to do next? Join MHSA’s mobilization call on Wednesday, November 18 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., which is part of the Alliance’s National Day of Action. Among other items, we will join with partners nationwide, as the Alliance puts it, “to urge Congress to fund what works, allow for innovation, and not be fooled by the [Trump] Administration’s rhetoric.”
To see western Massachusetts’ numbers in this national context, the Network’s Annual Presentation in May, 2026, summarizes the findings from our two Continuums of Care Point in Time Counts. Our region’s overall count dropped as well, largely in family homelessness, and that is explained by a number of factors also captured in the Network presentation.
