PHOENIX — Each year volunteers fan out across the state to get what is called a “point-in-time” count of people experiencing homelessness.
The count focuses on individuals living in emergency shelters and those living on the street in places like The Zone in downtown Phoenix.
There is a population mostly missed by these counts, those living in RV parks, motels, campgrounds, and other non-traditional arrangements.
The Census Bureau does take great effort to reach these people for the once-a-decade count.
The census refers to this category of people as living in “non-institutional group quarters.” This category is an umbrella for short-term living conditions for Americans that can participate in the labor force.
The category ranges from college dorms to emergency shelters.
Living conditions are organized into separate subcategories, with those experiencing some form of homelessness being included in two of them.
Census workers counted 4,051 Arizonans living in the subcategory for those living in RV parks and motels.
For most, homelessness is a temporary condition and the population living in non-institutional group quarters is fluid.
The count of people fell by 23% compared to the 2010 census. About one-in-five people in this population are considered vulnerable, based on age (either under 18 or over 65). Two-thirds are men.
Compared to other states, Arizona’s per capita rate is on the low end.
The highest rates are found in a mix of both urban and rural states.
South Dakota, Washington D.C., Hawaii, and California all have the highest rates of non-institutional group quarter living. Arizona is ranked 37 with rates like Indiana and Wyoming. The lowest rates are found in South Carolina and Mississippi.
The most important note to remember is many of these people are not part of point-in-time counts.
Arizona's 2022 Housing and Urban Development PIT count came to 13,553 people experiencing homelessness.
When factoring in the non-institutional group quarter population that lives in RV parks or motels, the true number of people experiencing homelessness in the state could be closer to a range of fourteen to seventeen thousand.
