Has homelessness in Maine doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began?

The number of homeless people in Maine has more than doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Maine State Housing Authority, the number of homeless Mainers rose from 1,156 in 2020 to 2,695 in 2024 — the most recent data available — based on a yearly count conducted each January.

The agency counted 1,865 unhoused families in January 2024, including 656 children.

The 2024 data tallied 273 unsheltered people, 732 who were in transitional housing, 1,342 in shelters and 348 in emergency motels. The motel figure dropped significantly from 1,954 in 2023, which MaineHousing attributed to a decrease in room availability and funding.

MaineHousing notes that the annual count is merely a snapshot in time and doesn’t capture the full scale of homelessness. Still, it’s the most comprehensive dataset available and is reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.