Last January’s annual point-in-time count of unhoused people in Pima County revealed 2,209 people living in shelters, transitional housing or without any shelter at all.

The count provides a snapshot of what homelessness looks like on a single night in Pima County.

These numbers show a 60% increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2018. With an ongoing shortage of affordable housing in Pima County and local officials still searching for solutions to the growing number of unhoused people, next month’s point-in-time count will be critical to helping identify the current need and guide next steps.

But before dozens of volunteers participate in the 2025 count, another local organization is taking a moment to honor the lives of people who died without having a safe place to call home.

In 2023, 223 people experiencing homelessness died in Pima County, a sharp increase from the 179 reported the year before.

On Friday, city leaders, clergy and community members will join the Primavera Foundation and hundreds of other communities across the country in a ceremony as part of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.

"The annual homeless memorial is a time to honor the men, women, and children who perished on the streets this past year – a time of reverence, dignity and reflection,” Primavera Foundation CEO Tisha Tallman said in a news release.

The event will take place at Evergreen Cemetery, 3015 N. Oracle Rd., from 4 to 5 p.m. It will feature music, reflections, prayers and a reading of the names of the people who died while experiencing homelessness in 2024.

“The fabric of our community consists of sheltered and unsheltered neighbors," Primavera Outreach Services Director Randi Arnett said in the release. “When we lose threads needlessly due to our neighbors being unhoused and on the streets, it affects the entire community.”

Primavera Foundation is a nonprofit founded in 1983 and focused on addressing the root causes of homelessness.

City and county officials are also still grappling with the issue as they advance strategic plans to address homelessness and public safety.

Jen Darland, director of Pima County’s Office of Housing Opportunities and Homeless Solutions, updated supervisors on the county’s plan during their most recent meeting, reminding them that the plan is focused on ensuring equity and sustainability when it comes to the county’s response to reports of homeless encampments.

The City of Tucson has a tool that lets citizens report encampments located on city or private property that “pose a threat to public safety, cause a major criminal or health concern, or when there is camping in any city park after hours.”

To make these reports, residents can scan a QR code, visit the reporting tool website or call the city of Tucson resource line. 

The ultimate goal is to establish baseline data on where these activities are taking place in order to monitor areas of Pima County that are prone to homeless activity or resettlement after public-works teams have gone out to engage with unhoused people. 

“Improved visibility will help us evaluate our coordinated county response in the delivery of services meant to interrupt homelessness,” she said. 

District 1 Supervisor Rex Scott said constituents have told him they’re frustrated with being bounced between jurisdictions. 

“There are assets that are held by federal and state agencies for which we have no authority to enter on to that property,” Darland said in response. “It can complicate our responsiveness a bit.”

She also discussed  future challenges with the incoming federal administration and what that could mean for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She said there’s a bit of “holding of breath” waiting to see what those federal changes mean for local continuums of care, especially those funded by HUD. 

“For example, housing-first practices,” she said. “Housing folks irrespective of any challenges including income or sobriety has largely been the priority and the regulation.”

The incoming federal changes will dictate how and if those practices evolve in Pima County.

For now, January’s point-in-time county and subsequent report will provide further metrics about the state of homelessness within the county – information vital to properly addressing solutions.

The count is conducted by the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness and is a requirement for receiving HUD funds. The group is seeking volunteers for the January 29 count, which will see hundreds of people spread out across the city and parts of the county to survey unsheltered individuals and gather information.

“Volunteers are pivotal to the success of the Point in Time Count. It takes hundreds of people to get it done,” Kat Davis, Continuum of Care Manager for Housing and Community Development for the City of Tucson, said in a news release. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with your community and support our unhoused neighbors.”

Volunteers will need to participate in a training on January 22 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and must be at least 18 years old.

The morning of the count, volunteers will go out in groups, with a team leader, to assigned geographic areas and conduct interviews through a standardized electronic survey  

Pima County’s Darland invited supervisors to join her on the count, which she called heartbreaking.

“But it puts a little fire in your belly to make sure that what we’re doing in this space continues to be forward-looking and forward-leaning to bring responses for folks who are experiencing homelessness,” she said.

Olivia Krupp is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at oliviakrupp@arizona.edu.

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