"Each year, HUD reports to Congress on the number of people who experience homelessness in the United States. Preventing and ending homelessness requires accurate information on the size and nature of the homelessness in the country, both at a point-in-time and on an annual basis. This report provides information on the one-year estimates of people who were able to access shelter programs in both 2019 and 2020. Following the implementation of a new platform for collecting data from communities, 2019 has now become the baseline year for tracking changes in the numbers and characteristics of people who use shelter programs at some time during a year.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, affecting six months of the 2020 reporting year. Data presented in this report reflect the considerable disruptions to the homeless service system during this time. Some shelters were closed, and many others reduced the number of beds available for occupancy. Data presented in this report show that the total number of people using shelters declined between 2019 and 2020. This decline likely reflects reduced shelter capacity in some communities, as well as people’s reluctance to enter shelters because of health and safety concerns."