Print this article When it comes to homelessness in America, cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and even Dallas might want to take a page out of Houston's playbook. The southeast Texas city has managed to cut its homelessness rate in half in the last decade by using a coordinated strategy that includes partnerships between the public and private sectors. Houston is the fourth-largest city in America, with a population of more than 2.3 million residents. In 2020, more than 30,000 people in the Houston area — Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties — needed some type of homeless assistance. That number jumped to 45,000 if prevention and other services such as food or clothing aid were factored in, according to the Coalition for the Homeless. On any given night in the Houston region, there were 3,974 people living outside, according to the 2020 Homeless Count and Survey.