April 2025:
On Jan. 28, 2025, the South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium (SDHHC), an affiliate of South Dakota Housing conducted its annual statewide Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count. The Count includes everybody staying in public and private shelters (including domestic violence shelters), transitional housing or motels paid for by an agency and unsheltered individuals who are staying in vehicles, on the streets or in places not meant for human habitation.
While the Point-in-Time Count is a “snapshot”, it provides a crucial source of annual data that can show characteristics of people who are experiencing homelessness. Data from the Count is used to measure homelessness on local, state, and national levels. Due to a variety of factors that can impact the PIT, numbers can change drastically from year to year. The process for CoCs to submit and verify this data with HUD has not yet begun; therefore, 2025’s numbers have not been accepted by HUD.
The results of the PIT are significantly affected by the availability of partners who can conduct these surveys in their communities. Isolating data by geographic regions other than Rapid City or Sioux Falls tends to give an incomplete picture of the state of homelessness in South Dakota. Rural regions of South Dakota are often undercounted because of a lack of service providers and partners to conduct surveys. With these count limitations, 1,431 people were identified.
Of the 1,431 people who were experiencing homelessness in South Dakota on Jan. 28, 2025:
- 843 men and boys were counted compared to 578 women and girls.
- 25% of respondents were in unsheltered situations on the day of the count, representing an all-time high of unsheltered homelessness (363 individuals)
- 8.8% of respondents were between the ages of 18-24, a decrease from 11% in 2024.
- There were 37 veterans experiencing homelessness in 2025, an increase from 31 in 2024.
- As in 2024, 38% of adult respondents were experiencing homelessness for the very first time. 53% of respondents had fewer than 4 instances of homelessness in the past three years. (compared to 70% in 2024)
- 25 Victim Service Providers from across the state participated in the 2025 PIT count and reported 254 clients fleeing domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault on the night of Jan. 28.
Additional information and numbers specific to Sioux Falls and Rapid City can be found at housingforthehomeless.org.
January 28, 2025:
On Jan. 28, 2025, the South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium, an affiliate of South Dakota Housing, will conduct its annual statewide point-in-time (PIT) homeless count. The PIT Count is a national one-day census and estimate of all people experiencing homelessness and fleeing domestic violence.
The PIT is an important source of annual data, providing characteristics of people who are experiencing homelessness. Every year this data is used to measure homelessness on local, state, and national levels. PIT Count data helps policy makers and communities measure progress, identify strengths and gaps in services, increases public awareness of homelessness, and enhances system planning and responses. The PIT Count is the primary tool for showing unmet need in our communities and participation is recommended for communities and organizations seeking homeless response grants in the coming years.
Volunteers across the state help SDHHC conduct the count of those experiencing homelessness. To be effective, SDHHC divides the state into six count areas with local coordinators in each area who work with agencies and volunteers to conduct the PIT Count. Coordinators and their areas are listed below. We urge communities and projects to contact their local coordinator to inquire as to how they can participate. Federally funded homeless programs are required to participate in the PIT.
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City of Sioux Falls; Suzy Smith, suzanne.smith@augie.edu, Augustana Research Institute, or 605-274-5010
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Rapid City & Region 1; Bennet, Butte, Corson, Custer, Dewey, Fall River, Jackson, Haakon, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Pennington, Perkins, Ziebach, Oglala Lakota counties. Amy Richie, amy.richie@voanr.org, Volunteers of America-Northern Rockies (VOA-NR)
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Region 2; Beadle, Brown, Campbell, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Marshall, McPherson, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Walworth counties. Yvette Heesch, yvette@growsd.org, Grow South Dakota
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Region 3; Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Lyman, Mellette, Sanborn, Todd, Tripp, Union, Yankton, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Jones counties. Karli Marts, kmarts@rocsinc.org, Rural Office of Community Services (ROCS)
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Region 4; Minnehaha, Grant, Deuel, Codington, Hamlin, Clark, Kingsbury, Brookings, Miner, Lake, Lincoln, Moody, McCook, Turner counties. Jamie Kessler, jkessler@interlakescap.com, Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership (ICAP)
- Veterans Affairs (VA) staff will collect information for VA programs.
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- West River contact Andrew Havens, andrew.havens@va.gov, 605-490-9705
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East River contact Kristy Anderson, Kristy.Anderson438@va.gov, 605-323-8546
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