Earlier this year, HAD invited WHYY News to join Brandywine Counseling outreach volunteers as they went out overnight to count the number of people living outside. On Jan. 24, the group walked through the woods in Kent County, eventually reaching an encampment in the Dover area where most residents chose not to engage, affecting the count.

Of the total count, 1,120 had found shelter while 238 remained unsheltered, indicating a significant increase in the unsheltered count compared to pre-pandemic times.

“We’ve been seeing the sheltered numbers go up a lot. So that’s people who are literally without a place, people sleeping outside and their cars. In 2024, it was 238 people, which is 58% higher than it was in 2020 right before COVID-19 hit,” she said. “About 60% of all people who are experiencing homelessness on the night of the Point-in-Time here in Delaware were Black and African American.”

HAD found about 800 Black residents didn’t have a permanent place to stay, while nearly 360 children were experiencing homelessness and over 500 individuals were age 55 and above.

“One in four people experiencing homelessness that night was a child under the age of 18, which is just completely unacceptable, and we also see a pretty high number of [people] over the age of 55,” she said. “Homelessness among seniors and people who are older is increasing across the country, and we’re also seeing that here in Delaware. About 22% of people were also over the age of 55.”