Roughly a thousand volunteers, outreach workers and local leaders fanned out across Sacramento on Monday and Tuesday as the region launched its 2026 Point-in-Time Count, an effort to document how many people are living unsheltered and understand what they need to move toward stable housing.
The biannual count is a critical tool for shaping Sacramento’s response to homelessness. By documenting who is living unsheltered, community leaders can identify gaps in services, allocate resources more effectively, and track trends over time. Volunteers fanned across Sacramento, starting from the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, and surveyed from 5-11 p.m.
The 2024 count highlighted progress and persistent challenges for Sacramento’s unhoused population. The number of people experiencing homelessness was estimated at 6,615, a 28.7% decrease from the 2022 count.
Black residents accounted for 33% of the unhoused population while white individuals made up 42%, and Hispanics at 15%. The rest of the unhoused population consists of smaller percentages of multiracial, Asian, and Pacific Islander individuals.
Additionally, approximately 46.9% of adults reported having a serious mental illness, and 31.6% had a substance use disorder.
“This focuses on who’s out there and how many people are out there because that determines how much resources we get from both the federal and state level,” said Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, who joined several City Council members and volunteers in the effort to count the unhoused population. “We’re not trying to get a higher count or a lower count. Whatever it is, we live with the consequences. The results help us plan for the future.”
McCarty said participating in the count also helps officials better understand the realities unhoused residents face, from health care and substance use issues to family composition and next steps toward housing. “We allocate resources every year, and this helps us make sure we’re using them in a way that has an effective outcome,” he said.
Councilmember Rick Jennings, who also volunteered in the 2024 and 2022 counts, said elected officials should participate directly.
“If I’m going to ask somebody to do something, I’ve got to lead by example,” Jennings said.
The OBSERVER accompanied Jennings, his chief of staff and a team of volunteers as they went through the Pocket/Greenhaven neighborhood. The group encountered no unhoused individuals in that area, highlighting how homelessness is unevenly distributed across the city and often concentrated in specific corridors and zones.
Supervisor Patrick Kennedy acknowledged the process is imperfect but essential.
“It’s legally required, and it helps us make data-driven decisions,” Kennedy said. “It’s more than just how many people there are. It helps us understand who they are, what conditions they’re living in, and where they’re staying so we can actually help people get off the streets.”
Joseph Smith, chair of the Sacramento Continuum of Care (COC), said the count is one of the most important components in the region’s homeless response system.
“When I look back at the 2024 Point-in-Time Count, it showed an estimated 6,615 people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento,” Smith said. “It showed a decrease from the prior year, including fewer people counted outdoors. That matters — it shows that investment, coordination and persistence can make a difference — but the count can never fully capture what people experience every day.”
Smith also spoke about his personal experience with homelessness, noting how it informs his leadership of the COC. He described navigating systems, feeling invisible, and the importance of having the COC remain community-led and inclusive of people who have lived that reality.
“What gives me hope is not a single number,” he said. “It’s the people standing here tonight — volunteers, outreach workers, service providers, people with lived experience and elected officials — showing up shoulder to shoulder.”
Smith described the COC as a community-led system of outreach workers, service providers, people with lived experience, advocates and local governments. He emphasized the partnership with Sacramento Steps Forward in preparing, coordinating and executing the count.
Lisa Bates, CEO of Sacramento Steps Forward, thanked nearly 1,000 volunteers and outreach professionals who participated over both nights. The organization also guides volunteers in identifying where unhoused individuals might be located, using maps and instructions to highlight areas behind businesses, along creeks, and other common gathering spots. Certain areas, like the American River Parkway, are considered difficult or unsafe for volunteers and are handled by professional outreach staff. This approach ensures that city and county streets are canvassed thoroughly while maintaining safety for volunteers and those being counted. Bates emphasized that the count not only collects important data but also reinforces to people experiencing homelessness that they are seen, valued, and not alone.
The count provides a snapshot of individuals and families living outdoors and the results are reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which guides funding and policy decisions.
The count is required for communities that receive federal COC funding. In 2024, Sacramento County received $40.5 million from HUD, more than $35 million of which supported permanent housing programs serving more than 2,100 people across nearly 1,600 households.
While leaders emphasized data and compassion, looming budget uncertainty threatens future housing and homelessness programs.
Supervisor Rich Desmond said Sacramento County faces structural deficits and potential federal and state funding cuts.
“The county executive is going to ask departments to take a 2.5% cut, which ends up being more than that once you factor in raises and cost-of-living adjustments,” Desmond said. “We’re agonizing over how to backfill resources we’re losing as a result of federal cuts, and counties aren’t seeing a lot of relief from the state, which is also facing deficits.”
Desmond said it is still unclear how those financial pressures will affect housing and homelessness programs locally, noting that the governor’s proposed budget is only an initial step in negotiations.
Sacramento Steps Forward said the full report is expected to be released in late spring or early summer.