Welcome

The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Daily Report provides a near real-time census of people and families living in New York City’s shelter system. This page presents a concise, transparent analysis of those daily counts from August 08, 2013 through the present. It emphasizes long-term trends, recent changes, and weekly patterns that are relevant to program planning and public health practice.

Data Overview

The data are a daily administrative census compiled by the New York City Department of Homeless Services and include counts of single adults, adults and children in families, and household-level counts such as families with children and adult-only families. The dataset begins on August 08, 2013 and is updated daily; it contains one observation per calendar date and numeric measures that capture the size and composition of the shelter population. Because the data are an administrative snapshot taken each day, they are well suited to describing the size of the shelter population over time and identifying temporal patterns but do not by themselves explain the causes of changes.

How to Use These Data

Users can employ these data to track the magnitude of shelter population changes, examine seasonal and weekday patterns, and compare recent behavior against long-term trends. The data are useful for operational planning (bed capacity and staffing) and for monitoring the short-term impact of policy or program changes that affect inflow or outflow from the shelter system. Analysts should be mindful that the data reflect counts at the time of census and may be influenced by reporting or administrative changes; therefore, any attribution of cause requires additional information.

Why Are These Data Important?

Counting people in shelter on a daily basis provides an operationally actionable metric for municipal agencies and service providers. The data offer a continuous view of system demand and can highlight emerging pressures on shelter capacity that may affect service delivery and public health interventions. Regular monitoring helps situate short-term fluctuations within broader trends and informs decisions about resource allocation, surge planning, and cross-agency coordination to protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness.

What These Data Show

The exhibits below begin with a high-level description of the distribution of daily counts and then move to focused views: the largest single-day census values, recent day-to-day counts, the relationship between adults and children in shelter, and weekly patterns that can guide operational planning. Each figure and table is accompanied by an interpretive paragraph that explains the analytic takeaway and connects that result to the next output for continuity.

What These Data Do Not Show

These counts do not include population-level outcomes outside the shelter census such as unsheltered homelessness, exits to permanent housing, or individual-level characteristics beyond basic age composition. The dataset does not capture reasons for admission or exit, nor does it provide demographic detail needed to assess differential impacts across subgroups. Causal explanations for trends are beyond the scope of these data and would require linkage to programmatic or policy event records.

Implications for Public Health Practice

Regular, transparent reporting of shelter counts supports timely responses to changes in population needs and can inform public health preparedness for seasonal or event-driven pressures. Practitioners and decision-makers should combine these time series with information about shelter capacity, intake procedures, and housing placement activity to produce actionable plans. Monitoring both short-term fluctuations and longer-term trends helps balance immediate operational demands with strategic investments to reduce system reliance.

Analyses