Houston Mayor John Whitmire said he wants Houston to be the first major city in the United States to end street homelessness by moving all individuals who live outdoors into stable housing.

He announced plans in late November that included a $70 million one- to two-year pilot program to start the process he hopes will be completed by the end of 2026.

Funding the project

Michael Nichols, director of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department, announced in February that the first $21.8 million was secured for the program, including:

• $17.5 million through a combination of general city and federal funds
• $700,000 from the state’s Homeless Housing and Services Program
• $1 million from the Downtown Management District
• $2.6 million from the Houston First Corporation

Houston First officials said the $2.6 million was originally earmarked to relight six Montrose bridges over the Southwest Freeway. However, at the city’s request, the money was given back and will now be used for the homelessness initiative.

The $70 million does not include funding for mental health, housing vouchers or disaster relief.

The plan

Nichols said one of the main goals of the new initiative is to help all homeless people in Houston find housing within 30 days of identification.

Catherine Villarreal, vice president of public affairs for the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, said she believes Houston has always focused on permanent housing, but this plan aims toward increasing rapid rehousing.

Rapid rehousing, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, is the process of finding short-term rental assistance and services to help people obtain housing quickly. More than half of the $70 million funding will go toward rapid rehousing.

• $45 million: Rapid rehousing
• $11 million: Permanent supportive housing:
• $3.8 million: Mental health hub and shelter
• $3.6 million Navigation center
• $3.3 million: Outreach
• $2.6 million: Diversion

“We are seeking to expand on what the Homeless Response System in Houston does beyond that laser-focus on permanent housing,” Villarreal said. “How do we create more of a waiting room for folks so that they don’t have to sleep on the streets?”

Nichols said one way to help address that issue is through creating a low-barrier shelter—a space where people can bring pets and partners and don’t need to be sober to enter—as well as expanding the number of available beds and affordable housing.

Affordable housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a form of housing where an occupant is paying no more than 30% of their gross income for housing costs.

According to the annual Housing Inventory Count conducted by the Coalition for the Homeless, there are approximately 7,800 affordable housing units within the homeless response system across Harris County and about 10,400 beds.

Offering input

Abbie Kamin, Houston City Council District C member, said Houston needs to also focus on building more permanent housing for the homeless, especially in areas where eviction rates are high, such as Montrose.

According to the Harris County Evictions Dashboard, there were 75,671 evictions filed in Harris County in 2024. At least 63% of those evictions were in District C, which encompasses portions of the Heights, Montrose and Upper Kirby areas.

“There was really important work previously being done, including by the Montrose TIRZ, on housing affordability studies for those neighborhoods to keep residents who have lived there in their neighborhoods,” she said. “We’ve been pushing for mixed-income and affordable housing in the district. The bottom line is we need more housing.”

Kamin said she believes Houston officials also need to focus more on helping people before they fall into homelessness.

Assessing the need

According to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count and Survey conducted by the Coalition for the Homeless, an annual event where volunteers count sheltered and unsheltered individuals on a single night, approximately 2,939 people experience homelessness in Harris County with 32% of individuals unsheltered.

Coalition volunteers conducted the 2025 count in January, and although the results won’t be released until spring, Villarreal said she believes the results may show an incline in the homeless population.

She said the increase could be due to the loss of federal COVID-19 funds, which have been sustaining homelessness programs since 2021.Looking ahead

Nichols said the city will begin to distribute the $70 million as funds become available, however the initial plan only covers the next one to two years.

He said the administration will begin to look for long-term sustainable sources in the meantime from entities such as:

• The Texas Legislature
• The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones
• Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County

As a last resort, Nichols said the administration could also seek to ask Houston residents to increase the city’s revenue cap to fund the plan, which has been intact since 2004.