BOISE, Idaho — While Nate Dodgson does not live on the streets, he has called various shelters home since moving to the city several years ago.
He moved to the area to attend rehab for alcoholism. However, Dodgson said he has struggled to keep a job after finishing his initial treatment.
"Not only with the alcohol, but emotionally and mentally, my health and well-being so, things became very difficult," he said.
That is just one of the any stories of homelessness in Ada County. New data from the Point-in-Time survey conducted last January shows homelessness continues to rise.
Boise-based group Our Path Home, which administers the federally required survey, released the results from last winter's Point-in-Time survey this month. The survey is an annual count of people experiencing homelessness done over a couple of days.
"We define a night that happens in the last 10 days of January, and then you do a community survey asking where folks were on that night to determine the total number of individuals experiencing homelessness," said Casey Mattoon, Our Path Home manager.
The survey shows nearly 800 people were homeless on the night of the 2024 count, roughly 100 more than last year.
However, the numbers do not paint the whole picture because of the tight window, Mattoon said. The numbers are actually in the thousands.
"The one thing that's consistent about homelessness is that the problem and the solution are housing," he said. "Because Boise continues to have and Ada County really continues to have a shortage of housing that's affordable and available, that's why we'll continue to see homelessness rise."
Our Path Home uses the data very minimally, mainly to identify trends. The federal government uses the survey to help inform federal decisions about funding across all of the geographies for which they provide housing solutions through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"We always as Our Path Home inform all of our partners about the results of the Point in Time Count," Mattoon said. "Like any other data point, we use this to continue to inform our strategies as we move forward in building solutions."
The group partners with dozens of agencies to address homelessness within the state, including the City of Boise. They have a number of affordable housing projects in the works.
Dodgson is hopeful the response to homelessness within the county is on the right track.
"I don't think anyone truly wants to see people homeless or in an active crisis or struggling to make ends meet or even get by," he said. "I think what I've witnessed here is most people from the top to bottom want to see people not only survive but thrive and succeed and really grow in their livelihood."
The 2025 Point-in-Time survey is scheduled for Jan. 29. Mattoon said people interested in volunteering should reach out to Our Path Home.