Hours before dawn on Jan. 30, a small group of volunteers gathered at Peace House to begin the 2026 Point-in-Time count.
The count is a survey administered every January by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It helps policymakers and service providers understand who’s experiencing homelessness and what they need.
The volunteers fanned out from Peace House around 4 a.m. with warming kits, gift cards and survey materials. Temperatures were in the low 20s that morning.
After the count, volunteer Chris O’Neill said his group surveyed four people experiencing homelessness within city limits, each with different circumstances.
“They were protective and didn’t want to disclose their situation,” he said. “I think there was a bit of shame around homelessness for one of the people we interviewed.”
Another person said they were looking for work but struggled to find housing in the community. Others referenced mental health as an added challenge.
“Many different aspects of life that could find people homeless,” O’Neill said.
Ashley Berry led this year’s local count. She’s been involved for nearly a decade. As she drove slowly through parking lots looking for people sleeping in cars, she said a few factors make homelessness difficult to pin down in the Wasatch Back.
“In my experience, homelessness in Summit County looks different than other places, whether it’s couch surfing or staying with a friend for a moment,” she said. “Those people are still homeless; they’re just a lot less seen.”
Plus, Park City has no warming shelters or other places where unhoused people can sleep, and residents frequently call the police to report individuals they suspect are homeless.
Park City police say if they encounter people experiencing homelessness, they offer resources and ask people to relocate if they’re trespassing.
Some people head to Peace House for shelter. Berry, who coordinates residential services for the nonprofit, said domestic violence can often precipitate homelessness.
“Whether that is recent and they’re actively fleeing, or that was 20 years ago and was the instigating factor – I think that the overlap is huge,” she said.
The Point-in-Time methodology has its limitations.
O’Neill’s group chatted with a couple of people who won’t be included in the count because, even though they don’t have permanent housing, they received vouchers to stay in a hotel in Heber City on the night the survey asked about.
A study from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty has criticized the count’s definition of homelessness as too narrow. And it’s easy for volunteers to miss people who seek shelter in hidden or secluded places.
O’Neill said participating in the count has given him more insight into what homelessness can look like in the Wasatch Back.
“I want to help people that are in need,” he said. “I’ll likely see those people again. If I can spare a few bucks or buy them a cup of coffee or point them in the way of a warm meal, I would try to do that.”
Berry agreed.
“If you can even find one person to connect them to resources, it’s worth it,” she said. “In my opinion, everyone deserves to have safe, warm housing, and it’s something, as a community, that we are all responsible for.”
She says although the known population of unhoused Parkites may be small, she believes the count is worth doing.
