Palm Beach County officials have released new data this week showing homelessness in the county has plunged.
Homelessness is down 28% compared to last year — that means less people without shelter, living in abandoned buildings or sleeping outside in bus stops and parks, according to an annual point-in-time (PIT) count by county officials.
The county's Homeless and Housing Alliance along with a few hundred volunteers say they counted more than 1,500 people as homeless during a 24-hour period at the end of January — down from just over 2,100 in 2024.
Some factors could have impacted these numbers, such as the state’s new Public Camping Law which made it harder for volunteers to locate people without shelter.
READ MORE: With encampment ban in effect, beginning Oct. 1, homeless in South Florida face new challenges
In a statement, county officials said a deeper analysis is expected to come once "numbers from across the state and country are reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
Meanwhile, Wendy Tippett, director of PBC Community Services Department Human Services and Community Action Division, said she wants to ensure that homelessness is "rare, brief and nonrecurring."
"We know that our work is not over, which is why we use the PIT Count numbers to make data-driven decisions on how to provide essential services to the areas most in need,” she added.
County officials are working to expand rehousing programs and transitional housing locations, including a new 74-bed Central County Housing Resource Center and 17 Cottage Homes for families.
