Local News

250 volunteers canvas Boston neighborhoods, parks for homelessness census

The results, which will be available in the coming months, will likely show a rise in homelessness in Boston, similar to last year's 10 percent increase.

From left, Beckie Tachick, a nurse with the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Jim Greene, Assistant Director for Street Homelessness Initiatives, Mayor’s Office of Housing, City of Boston, and two other volunteers conduct a welfare check with an unhoused individual in Boston, MA, during their annual homeless count in the early hours of Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe)

By Molly Farrar

January 30, 2025

1 minute to read

More than 250 volunteers canvassed the city’s neighborhoods, transit, parks, and more overnight Wednesday to record Boston’s homeless population, which officials anticipate to rise.

Boston’s Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon led the 45th annual homelessness census starting at midnight Thursday. Volunteers surveyed people sleeping on the streets and shared safety information and items to help people stay warm, the mayor’s office said in a press release.

The results, which will be available in the coming months, will be cross-checked with shelter data and analyzed.

“The annual homelessness census is more than a count,” Dillon said in a statement. “It’s a crucial step in understanding the challenges faced by our most vulnerable residents and shaping our strategies to meet their needs.”

Even without 2025’s results, the mayor’s office noted that Boston is currently seeing a rise in homelessness, which mirrors national trends. There was a 10.6 percent increase from 5,202 individuals to 5,756 in 2024, according to last year’s census.

The potential rise comes after “years of progress in reducing homelessness,” the mayor’s office said, but 2024’s numbers were still 11.3 percent lower than the city’s peak in 2015 of 6,492 people in the city experiencing homelessness.

There were more than 770,000 people experiencing homelessness in 2024, an 18 percent increase from the previous year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced last month.

“Boston’s annual homelessness census is an opportunity to evaluate the needs of unsheltered Bostonians and connect individuals to services,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said. “The data from the census is crucial for the City as we act with urgency and care to make Boston a city for everyone.”