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Omaha groups hit the streets to take a count of homeless population and hand out supplies
Omaha groups gather to complete annual summer count of homeless population.
OMAHA, Neb. —
Omaha groups hit the streets Tuesday night for the annual summer Point-In-Time, or PIT, count of people experiencing homelessness across Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties.
Outreach teams use this one-day snapshot of homelessness in the community to compare and contrast numbers with the winter PIT count, identify people who could otherwise be missed, and to ensure everyone is accounted for during community decisions.
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Teams also deliver immediate necessities as well as connecting people with services to move them towards housing stability.
Pete Miller, the Street Outreach Manager for Threshold CoC, said they had 60 volunteers from non-profits, shelters, and hospitals in the search.
“We hope to connect with as many people as possible, give them some survival supplies, make a connection so we can come back later and do more in-depth case management,” Miller said.
Each January, the groups gather to complete the mandated PIT count for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The 2026 winter PIT count found homelessness in Omaha at an all-time high, according to the Institute for Community Alliances.
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Miller says it’s important that they compare data from the coldest time of the year with the data they gather in the summer PIT during the hottest time of the year.
“We know that emergency room visits spike, heat stroke, all kinds of heat-related illnesses. Medications don’t store well; it’s just miserable to be in that,” Miller said.
Many Rose is the Senior Outreach Specialist for Siena Francis House, and she agreed that now is a dangerous time for people without housing because of the heat.
“If they don’t get enough water, you know, they can overheat. And we have to get him to the hospital. So we got to make sure that we fight each and every one so we can at least take care of him, get him into shelter or wherever they need to go,” said Rose.
Rose said funding depends on numbers they gathered during the count and that they need funds to get people off the street.
They said they hope to publish the numbers from the summer count soon.
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