Sioux Falls’ annual homeless count aims to accurately assess population, needs

It starts with this question: Where did you sleep outside Tuesday night?

So begins the annual effort to count the number of people experiencing homelessness in Sioux Falls.

It’s a task made possible by multiple partners, beginning as people arrived at shelters Tuesday night.

“In the past, we brought in volunteers for the sheltered counts, which wasn’t always ideal because those volunteers, while well intentioned and essential to getting the count done, weren’t necessarily experienced working with people experiencing homelessness,” said Suzanne Smith, count organizer and associate vice president for enterprise data analytics at the Augustana Research Institute.

“As shelter staff have built up their staff capacity and especially capacity for data collection and documentation, they’ve been able to take on more of that effort with their own guests. Again, this is helpful because they already have a relationship with the people they’re surveying.”

In recent years, South Dakota Urban Indian Health’s Wo’okiye project and Midwest Street Medicine, plus the VA homeless outreach team and team members from the Veterans Community Project have assisted.

“Having these experienced street outreach teams has helped us get a better count of people who are unsheltered,” Smith said.

“In the past, that was the hardest part of the count — sending volunteers out who weren’t necessarily familiar with the people they might meet or where to find them or really even how to approach people.”

The city coordinated among its police and park officers, and teams from Southeastern Behavioral HealthCare and Sioux Falls Housing provided staff support.

This morning, the group gathered at Midwest Street Medicine and set off in small groups to look for those who might not have been counted in the shelters.

Some went to the downtown library. Others walked outdoors.

This group found people experiencing homelessness standing outside on East Eighth Street.

Later, they encountered a group of people sheltering under the 10th Street viaduct.

In each case, volunteers found people willing to participate in the survey and grateful for the connections and resources the teams provided.

“Having experienced count volunteers who work everyday with people experiencing homelessness is critical to connecting people with resources,” Smith said. “The people who are out surveying know the resource landscape and can help make those connections.”

While out walking, volunteers ask a series of questions lasting a few minutes. Responses are anonymous. The questions cover areas such demographic information, whether the person is a veteran, whether the person is dealing with a disabling condition or fleeing abuse and what additional resources the person might need.

Others help with items for people encountered during the count. Church on the Street team members survey directly as well as providing hygiene kits, snacks and warm clothes to distribute during the count. Veterans Community Project gifted supplies, while the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation provided funds for one-day bus passes.

“We hand these out as an incentive for people to participate in the survey,” Smith explained. “Volunteers also carry hygiene kits, snacks, gloves, hats and other supplies that they can distribute on the spot. And, our VA staff is amazing: They’re on call during the count, so if any volunteer meets a veteran who wants to get connected to services, they can call and immediately connect with someone who can help make that happen.”

Over lunch, volunteers stopped back at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House to see if anyone has not yet been counted. In the afternoon, volunteers visited public libraries again, plus the transit center downtown, and then The Banquet and Banquet West for dinner.

Through the end of the week, the unsheltered service count will continue.

“Things went well overall,” Smith said. “We have a great group of individuals and organizations working on the count — and working year-round to connect people to housing and services. It wouldn’t be possible to get this work done without a lot of people working together.”

Preliminary results could be available in March.

The statewide total in 2025 was 1,431, up from 1,338 in 2024; however, it was driven by more concentrated outreach, both in Sioux Falls and on tribal land, where both Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River reservations participated, compared with just Cheyenne River in 2024.

Of the 1,431 total, 363 people, or approximately one in four, were unsheltered. That compares with 227 in 2024, 310 in 2023 and 342 in 2022. The total represented an all-time high, ahead of the previous high of 1,389 set in 2022.