05/12/2026
 A sobering new report reveals that homelessness in Franklin County is not just growing but shifting in a more alarming direction, with the number of people living outside in encampments, cars, and other spaces not meant for human habitation surging 43% in a single year. The Community Shelter Board's annual Point-in-Time Count, conducted in January, identified 2,587 people experiencing homelessness across Columbus and Franklin County, a modest 1.2% overall increase from 2025. But beneath that number is a far more troubling story: while the number of people using emergency shelters and transitional housing actually dropped by 8%, the number of people with nowhere at all to go jumped from 455 to 651, the largest single-year spike since 2023. The numbers within that unsheltered group paint an even more urgent picture, with 42% more people with severe mental illness, 53% more people with chronic substance use disorders, 75% more people with HIV or AIDS, and 32% more domestic violence survivors all counted among those now living outside . The region is already facing a shelter gap of approximately 1,000 people, and without additional investment, predictive modeling projects a 68% increase in unsheltered homelessness by 2028.
Community shelter leaders and city council members are pointing to what they say are proven solutions: expanding street outreach teams beyond the current four dedicated workers, establishing year-round hotel-to-housing bridge programs, and scaling rapid rehousing initiatives that connect people directly with stable housing rather than routing them through shelter systems. A winter hotel program that ran through March demonstrated the model's promise, helping 44 people move directly into permanent housing from unsheltered situations. But that funding expired April 1 and the hotel closed. Officials say three year-round hotel shelter sites could reduce family homelessness by 48% by 2028. Columbus City Council approved $7.2 million for the shelter board in its 2026 operating budget, but leaders acknowledge that investment, while meaningful, is not yet enough to match the scale of the crisis .
