(FORT WORTH, TEXAS) – At its annual State of the Homeless Address, Partnership Home released its Annual Report on Housing and Homelessness, a comprehensive resource outlining the state of homelessness. Also included is the affordable housing and homelessness instability index. The report examines the housing crisis facing our region and Partnership Home’s commitment to address housing across the income spectrum and create a vibrant community where everyone has a place to call home.
“Housing instability and homelessness are no longer issues affecting only the lowest income earners,” said Lauren King, executive director of Partnership Home. “More and more, we’re seeing mid-level earners—recent college graduates with entry level jobs, the people who teach our children, serve our coffee, and keep our cities running— being priced out of the housing market. This report helps us recognize the collective successes we’ve had and the challenge we face. I hope the report compels both public and private sectors to further consider lasting solutions.”
The report incorporates local, regional, and national data and examines the entire housing continuum—from stable housing and affordable housing to homelessness. Key findings spotlight the growing demand for options among low to moderate-income families and the existing shortfalls driving more individuals and families into housing insecurity.
Highlights from the report include:
- A salary of $58,000 is required to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
- The fastest growing population of homeless in Fort Worth is 55+.
- Approximately 109,000 Fort Worth residents are considered housing cost burdened.
- Fort Worth is 40,000 units short in affordable housing units needed to meet community demand (Source: Economist Dr. Ray Perryman).
- Data from 2024 reveals 45 percent of those experiencing homelessness are doing so for the first time.
- A growing percentage of rental and homeownership units are unaffordable for residents.
- Eviction rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with more than 40,000 evictions filed each year.
- Federal funding reductions threaten an already stretched homeless response system.
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The report also introduces a new triage assessment in 2025, which will give providers comprehensive context into people’s circumstances as they enter homelessness, guiding more targeted support and interventions.
“Partnership Home and its members have worked to create a system that delivers customized responses within a complex system,” said Victoria Farrar-Myers, Board president of Partnership Home. “While we continue to lead in innovative solutions and response efficacy, more needs to be done and it will require everyone coming to the table with new ideas.”
By viewing housing as a continuum that includes stable housing, housing instability, and homelessness, Partnership Home urges policymakers, community leaders, and residents to work together toward community-based, comprehensive, data-driven solutions.
“The report will continue to evolve as we make progress and focus our interventions upstream. At Partnership Home, our goal is to prevent people from needing the homeless response system,” added King. “We should aspire to do better by our neighbors in need. The decisions and actions we take today will mitigate future challenges and have a lasting impact on the place we all call home.”
For more information or to view the full report, visit www.partnershiphome.org.
