Lake County's homeless numbers down, but still high; ‘An individual … experiencing homelessness looks just like you or me'

Chicago Tribune

15-05-2025

Lake County has released the results of the 2025 Homeless Point-in-Time Count, and while numbers have improved since last year's record-setting high, additional data paints a far less-positive picture.
According to a news release from the county, this year's assessment of unhoused people, conducted by more than a hundred volunteers on the night of Jan. 29, recorded a total of 561 individuals experiencing homelessness across the county. Of those, 439 were staying in emergency shelters, 64 in transitional housing programs and 58 were unsheltered, the release said.
It's a notable drop from last year's 705, which represented a steep 50% increase from the prior year's count, but it's still far higher than the norm of the past decade for Lake County. Annualized data on homelessness in Lake County actually indicates an increase in overall homelessness, the release said, with 1,452 accessing emergency shelter compared to 1,158 in the previous year.
The number of people experiencing homelessness for the first time was up as well, with nearly 1,100 in 2025, and the average stay time in shelters had increased to 132 nights, up from 110 the year before. However, there was a 12% decrease in the number of families in shelters, dropping to 105 from 119 in 2024.
Lake County's rise in homelessness was far from an outlier. A 2023 Associated Press report showed the U.S. experienced a 12% increase in homelessness, the most since the country began using the point-in-time survey in 2007.
Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart said homelessness is not just a housing issue, 'it's a human one.' It was the job of the board and its partners to not only manage homelessness, but also provide housing opportunities through, 'creative problem-solving and innovative approaches' for the community's 'most vulnerable neighbors.'
'Behind every tent or shelter bed is a person or family with a story, a struggle and many of the same hopes we all share,' Hart said. 'It is important to remember that an individual or family experiencing homelessness looks just like you or me.'
Lake County Community Development Administrator Dominic Strezo said the 'solution to homelessness is housing. Housing supply has not kept up with demand, driving up cost beyond the reach of many.'
Addressing homelessness requires a network of readily available resources to support individuals and families facing a housing crisis 'due to no fault of their own,' the release said, allowing them to 'get back on their feet and into a home to call their own.'
This year's count, which saw its volunteer sign-up period close early due to an overflow of applications, had volunteers working into the next morning, driving around the county in search of people experiencing homelessness. Beyond taking a count, volunteers spoke with people, providing them care packages and offering a ride to a shelter for the night.
Eric Foote, president of the Lake County Coalition for the Homeless, praised the efforts of volunteers who participated in the count, and called for continued efforts to support the vulnerable.
'While many institutions are contributing to the work of ending homelessness, the efforts of individual community members must also be credited,' he said. 'The 2025 Point-in-Time Count was a show of force for the good from Lake County citizens interested in making a difference.'