What is "The Count"?

"The Count" is a one-day homeless count event in Austin and Travis County. The Continuum of Care Application for homeless assistance funding requires CoCs to produce statistically reliable, unduplicated counts or estimates of homeless persons in sheltered and unsheltered locations on a single night. The ECHO Count & Survey Committee coordinates the annual count. Many homeless service providers and community volunteers take part in this one-day count of homeless persons.

Unsheltered homeless people are an important subpopulation of homeless persons and their characteristics and needs must be accommodated within any strategy to reduce homelessness. Collecting good data on the number, characteristics, and service needs of unsheltered homeless people is a critical component of local homeless planning and program development.

Participate in Planning Process

For more information, contact the committee Chair, Rick Rivera at or (512) 327-7880

For more information, please see

"A Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless People" HUD, January 2008

Austin/Travis County Homeless Count