11 hours ago
Survey found seven homeless people in QC
It may surprise some Queen Creek residents that homeless people have been found in town.
But on Jan. 27, Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) volunteers interviewed seven unsheltered people in the town during their annual Point In Time (PIT) survey, although it provided no details about them.
Whether they were the same seven PIT survey volunteers found last year is unknown, but what is known is that they didn't live in a shelter because Queen Creek has none.
'There is not a shelter in the Town of Queen Creek. Based on the map provided by MAG, one individual was generally located near Ocotillo and Ironwood, and six individuals were generally located near Ocotillo and Ellsworth. MAG does not collect specific identifying information, so we are unable to confirm if they are the same unsheltered seven individuals noted in the 2024 PIT count,' said Constance Halonen-Wilson, the town's communications and marketing manager.
One thing is for certain: Queen Creek's homeless population bucked a county-wide trend in this year's PIT count, which showed the number of people either living on the street or in a shelter increased by 3% this year over last.
And the town's homeless population is miniscule, exceeding only a handful of the 25 cities and towns included in the PIT survey, along with unimported parts of Maricopa County.
And Queen Creek's homeless population is not even close to that of Phoenix, which saw a year-over-year increase of 1,000 for a total 3,781 this year.
In all, the PIT survey found 9,734 people experiencing homelessness in the county that day, with 53% living on the street. The total – a 3% year-over-year increase –included 539 families across the county 12% more than were found six years ago.
The PIT count offers a mere snapshot of people in Maricopa County without a permanent home and 'there are more people who experience homelessness over the course of a year than on any given night,' according to the Maricopa Association of Governments, which organizes it.
Based on interviews in a one-day census in January, officials drew up this demographic overview of the homeless population.
But that snapshot provides 'an important source of data' and 'helps to inform communities on the number of people who access emergency shelters or transitional housing, as well as those who are sleeping in places not meant for habitation,' it says.
Comparing what it found in 2019, the PIT census this year saw a slight increase in the number of people 18-24 years old without a home (555), a 3% decrease in veterans (462) and a 109% increase in chronically homeless people.
Volunteers counted 1,208 mentally ill people, 1,294 addicts and alcoholics and 626 victims of domestic violence among the homeless people they interviewed.
Officials estimated that the number of street people increased countywide by 28% this year over 2024 while there was a 16% decrease in the number who were living in shelters.
In a deep dive into the demographics of this year's PIT count, MAG reported that 37% were white, 24% Hispanic and 27% Black while 64% were males.
The largest age group from the count comprised adults 35-44, accounting for 23% of the 2025 PIT population, followed by adults 25-34 accounting for 20%.
Children up to 17 years old made up 12% of the total population interviewed by PIT volunteers, while those 18 to 24 comprised 7% and those over 65 made up 6%.
Officials attributed the overall increase in homelessness in the county represented in the PIT count as well as the increase in the number living on the street to the disappearance of federal pandemic funds.
Since the federal government began doling out hundreds of millions of dollars to states, counties and municipalities from 2020 to 2023, Phoenix and other cities used as that money as a major funding source for shelter and homeless services operations.
Now, those cities and towns are using other revenue sources to help.
No other municipality comes close to the cost Phoenix bears, which is around $26 million.
Ashley Patton, deputy communications director for Phoenix, said, '2024 was a banner year for shelter capacity in Maricopa County, where more beds were available than ever before.
'Unfortunately, between 2024 and 2025, the Maricopa County homeless services system lost more than 1,000 shelter beds which relied on temporary funding sources.'
'Homelessness is complex and requires regional support and coordination,' she added. 'We need federal, state and municipal partners to join us in investing in this critical need.'
