TREASURE COAST — Homelessness across the Treasure Coast increased in 2026, reversing a decline seen the previous year, according to newly released point-in-time count data.
The annual count, conducted in late January, recorded 574 people experiencing homelessness across the region’s three counties, reflecting a year-over-year rise.
Rayme Knuckles, executive director of the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council, said the increase follows a notable drop in 2025 and represents a modest shift upward.
“Overall, the 2026 point in time count shows a modest increase in homelessness on the Treasure Coast. It is following a significant drop the year before,” Knuckles said. “On January 29th, we counted 574 people who experienced homelessness across all three counties. That does represent about a 9% increase from 2025.”
Knuckles said trends varied by county, with some areas seeing growth while others remained stable or declined.
“The county that saw the most increase is Martin County, of 212 individuals who were counted on the streets. That’s about an 8% increase. In River, we remained flat, and in St. Lucie County, we saw about 164, which was a decrease of about 6% from 2025,” he said.
The point-in-time count is a federally required, one-night survey that measures both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in a community.
“It includes people who are unsheltered and sheltered. So, unsheltered are people living outside in their cars, in camps, in the woods, or places not meant for human habitation. Sheltered are those who are in emergency shelter, transitional housing, hotel, motel placements that are paid by agencies or faith-based organizations,” he said.
Officials note the count does not capture the full scope of homelessness, particularly individuals who are not included under federal criteria.
“The PIT numbers don’t reflect the 2,400 other additional individuals that are there that we can’t count but the Department of Education can,” he said. “You start combining those, so basically on the Treasure Coast, we’re looking at around 3,000 people who are homeless.”
Knuckles pointed to multiple factors contributing to the increase, including rising housing costs and a lack of affordable options.
“We have several compounding challenges. One, we have an affordability crisis. Florida rents increased 85% from 2015 to 2025, while wages rose only about 58%, according to some of the statistics that I’ve found. We have a limited housing stock. It’s challenging for individuals who are low-income to find anything that they can afford,” he said.
He added that older adults are among those most affected by the current economic conditions.
“Seniors are the individuals that we do need to be concerned about because many seniors were banking on their Social Security to support them. And our economy has catapulted into this process that makes it almost impossible for people to live without some other support,” he said.
While no single solution exists, Knuckles said expanding housing options and strengthening community partnerships could help address the issue.
“My biggest hope is that we can work more closely with landlords to help reduce the rental costs that they’re doing with shared housing specifically. But most importantly, just have units that are open to us. We have a lot of opportunity for individuals who may live in their home alone, and they could take in an individual and maybe charge that individual $500 a month. And that would be a much better approach for us to think about the possibility of doing shared housing with some seniors who may need an extra $500 or $600 a month for someone who’s working full-time,” he said. “There are alternatives. It’s connecting with the community, and hopefully the community will respond.”