Nearly 2,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Pinellas County during the 2026 point-in-time count. The number living outside rose sharply.

The count found 1,949 people without permanent housing across the county, including Clearwater, a roughly 5% increase from the prior year, as first reported by Spectrum Bay News 9. Of those, 635 were unsheltered, an 18% jump. A city-level breakdown was not available.

Cheri Holzbacher, CEO of the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas, said the people showing up in the data look different than they did a few years ago.

"What we are seeing on the ground is more families and more older people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time," Holzbacher said.

Financial pressures and job loss remain the top reasons people report losing their housing, according to Holzbacher.

New tools, new law

The numbers arrive two years after Florida's House Bill 1365 (HB 1365) took effect. The law's camping prohibition, which bars unauthorized sleeping on public property, began Oct. 1, 2024. A separate provision allowing residents or business owners to file civil actions against local governments that permit public camping took effect Jan. 1, 2025, according to the Florida Association of Counties.

Holzbacher said agencies across Pinellas came together before the law took effect to make sure enough shelter space existed for people who could no longer camp in public.

To help outreach workers respond faster, the Homeless Leadership Alliance launched a community services mobile app powered by WellSky in 2025. Street teams use it to check available shelter beds and connect people to services in real time.

Encampments have declined significantly since HB 1365 took effect, Holzbacher said. But the latest count also found a growing share of people who have been homeless for years, including individuals with complex health and disability needs. She said housing-first programs have long included supportive and treatment services, and that supportive housing is necessary to keep people with significant disabilities out of hospitals and jail.

Federal funding shift ahead

Across Tampa Bay, providers are also watching a federal policy shift away from "housing first" toward "treatment first." In Hillsborough County, Antoinette D. Hayes-Triplett, CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative, said the change could reshape how local agencies compete for and spend federal dollars. Hillsborough's overall count fell about 3%, but homelessness among people 65 and older rose 18% there.

That shift in federal priorities could affect Pinellas agencies as well.

The Homeless Leadership Alliance is seeking new board members. Nominations for the Pinellas Continuum of Care (CoC) Board of Directors are due by Oct. 27 at 11:59 p.m., according to the alliance's social media.