The city council recently reviewed strategies to address the city's homelessness crisis, observing an 18% increase in unsheltered homelessness from 2020 to 2024 following the COVID-19 pandemic, with recent data showing some headway made in this ongoing battle, according to the City of Fort Worth news update.
In efforts to combat the rising homelessness figures, significant progress was reported in the six-month update of the High-ImpACT pilot program, which is dedicated to mental health and housing interventions. The program saw a commendable stride forward, housing 30 individuals by October 31. The goal is to house 80 by October 2025, while comprehensive camp cleanup efforts have collected a staggering 1,963 tons of waste from 1,363 camps in the Fiscal Year 2024, a transparent assessment of the efforts to manage encampments on public and private lands with the balance between safety and empathy was also presented.
The city's homelessness unit, previously known as Directions Home, will now operate under the new moniker Homeless Strategies. As detailed in the update, this name reflects the city's dedication to dynamic and strategic approaches to addressing homelessness. Incidentally, the FY26 Request for Proposals (RFP) will launch early this year, inviting innovative solutions to help counter the challenges of unsheltered homelessness.
