NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A new report released by the federal government showed that the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in New Mexico reached an all-time high in 2024. The point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness took place on one day in January and is part of the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report to Congress. It provides nationwide estimates of homelessness, including information about the demographic characteristics of homeless persons, service use patterns, and the capacity to house homeless persons. Volunteers in each state gather the information and help determine how much federal funding is allocated for homeless assistance programs. Report: New Mexico saw increase in homelessness in 2023 According to the report, the United States saw an 18% increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024. The report also noted that the number of people experiencing homelessness reached an all-time high in 2024, with 771,480 individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night.  Like the country as a whole, New Mexico also saw an increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024, marking a 20.5% shift. In the 2024 count, there were 4,631 people in New Mexico experiencing homelessness on a single night, an all-time high for the state. During the 2024 count, the percentage of people experiencing homelessness and unsheltered in New Mexico was 48.4%, according to the report. Another change noted in the report was that New Mexico saw the fifth-largest increase in the country of veterans experiencing homelessness between 2023 and 2024, with a change of 16.4%. In five states, more than half of all veterans experiencing homelessness were sleeping in places not meant for human habitation. These are California (69%), New Mexico (60%), Washington (59%), Oregon (55%), and Hawaii (51%), per the report. While New Mexico still has work to do when it comes to helping address homelessness, the report did note the state saw some improvement. New Mexico experienced the fourth-largest decrease in the country of people in families with children experiencing homelessness between 2023 and 2024, with a downward shift of 14%. While HUD's PIT count is a key tool for estimating the size of the U.S. homeless population, in the past its reliability has come into question by members of Congress, the New Mexico volunteers conducting the count, and the National Homelessness Law Center, with the center claiming in 2017 that the count "underestimatesthe homelessness crisis in America."