A message from Trent Simmons, PhD
Chief Program Officer, Sacramento Steps Forward
Preventing and ending homelessness in Sacramento begins with understanding who is experiencing it. Our community relies on two main sources of data: the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. Put together, they offer both continuous tracking and a snapshot, giving us a fuller sense of scale, change, and challenge.
The HMIS: Continuous Data for a Consistent View
The HMIS is a shared database used by homelessness service providers to track people’s interactions with housing and services. Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF), as the lead agency for the Continuum of Care (CoC), manages the HMIS for Sacramento County. The system captures who enters, exits, or returns to services, helping us see long-term patterns in shelter use, housing placements, and returns to homelessness.
Data from the HMIS powers the State of Homelessness Dashboard, which is updated monthly to show how many people are unhoused at any given time and how that number shifts. Because the HMIS tracks over time, it gives us insight into flow—how people move through the system—not just static counts. It is the best picture of homelessness available to our community. However, the HMIS only reflects people who engage with services, so those living completely outside the system can be missed.
The PIT Count: A Single Night and a Shared Effort
The PIT Count, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), measures how many people are experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The count has two parts: sheltered and unsheltered.
- The sheltered count occurs annually and draws directly from the HMIS.
- The unsheltered count is conducted every other year by volunteer teams surveying encampments, sidewalks, and public spaces.
Because not every part of Sacramento County is canvassed, the unsheltered count is statistical in nature. Volunteers cover selected areas, and the results are used to estimate totals across the rest of the county. The PIT therefore provides an informed estimate, not an exact number.
The next unsheltered PIT Count will take place January 26–27, 2026. While it captures just a brief period, it provides valuable community-wide visibility, supports federal reporting, and influences funding awards through the annual CoC Program competition. Like HMIS, the PIT has limits: it may miss people in hidden areas, and it ultimately an estimate of people experiencing homelessness in the region.
Bringing the HMIS and the PIT Count Together
Neither the HMIS nor the PIT stands alone. The HMIS gives us continuity, showing trends month to month. The PIT gives us visibility, helping us understand who is and isn’t engaged in services. Used together, they create a clearer view of who is experiencing homelessness in Sacramento.
These data sources help guide decisions about funding, planning, and service delivery, informing new and improved programs, partnerships, and priorities.
We invite you to better understand who’s experiencing homelessness through our website here and, if you want to join us this year, learn more at 2026 Point-in-Time Count.
With sincere appreciation,
Trent Simmon
Chief Program Officer, Sacramento Steps Forward
This article was originally published in the Sacramento Steps Forward Monthly Newsletter, October 7, 2025.
