Philly's sheltered homeless population is on the rise
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Philadelphia's homeless population using emergency shelters, safe havens and transitional housing has risen for the fifth year in a row.
Why it matters: Mayor Cherelle Parker has pledged to reduce homelessness and add more shelter beds as she prepares for an anticipated reelection bid next year.
State of play: At least 4,452 individuals were found using the city's shelter system in February, up 2.6% over last year.
- Last week, the Parker administration released limited data around the annual point-in-time survey of the city's homeless population.
Context: More people (4,676 people) are now in Philly's shelter system since 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
The big picture: Overall homelessness declined 6.3% from last year, to 5,163 people.
- That decline was driven by a drop in unsheltered people, including those sleeping on the street, to 711, a nearly 40% decreased compared with last year.
Worth noting: Philly's homeless population — both sheltered and unsheltered — remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Between the lines: Since Parker took office in 2024, her administration has taken a dual approach to homelessness:
- Cracking down, with a special focus on Kensington, including clearing homeless encampments.
- Adding shelter beds, boosting homeless outreach and expanding city services, including opening a new drug treatment facility last year in Northeast Philly.
The intrigue: The release of limited point-in-time survey data comes soon after Philly's high-profile summer events.
- A full report is expected to be released later this summer, which should include details like the number of homeless individuals counted specifically in Kensington.
What they're saying: Sharon Gallagher, a spokesperson for the city's Managing Director's Office, tells Axios that other cities recently put out similar data regarding homelessness, so the Parker administration followed suit.
- Gallagher said a major impact on the decline in overall homelessness was the addition of nearly 1,000 beds and better quality shelters.
The other side: Kensington-based Prevention Point — which provides medical, behavioral health and prevention services — hasn't seen a significant change in the number of services it has been providing to people experiencing homelessness over the last couple of years, spokesperson Cari Bender tells Axios.
Staci J. Scott, the chief operating officer for the social service organization Broad Street Love, tells Axios that the Center City-based nonprofit continues to serve hundreds of individuals experiencing poverty daily and seeking services ranging from housing needs to a hot meal.
- "Our numbers are not going down," she says.