Using the 2024 Brevard County annual Point in Time count numbers, which provide a look of what homelessness looks like on one night in the community, this year’s count was slightly higher than it was in 2023.

Experts say that increase shows a need to help people who want it to get off the streets.

Shannon Owens and her four kids — aged 7, 10, 12 and 18 — say they are finally in a good place after being homeless for quite some time.

It was so bad that Owens said they were on the verge of desperation.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “I called shelters in Sanford and Orlando, and they didn’t have room for our size family, because there are so many people going through the same thing.”

She said her brother told her about Helen’s House in Melbourne, which opened the doors of its Center for Women and Children on June 10.

The nonprofit provides housing, meals, counseling and educational programs, with the goal of breaking the cycle of homelessness.

Owens said Helen’s House was a godsend for her family.

“My plan is to get a job, and being able to interact with my kids a little bit more, not being under stress,” she said.

During this year’s Brevard Homeless Coalition annual point-in-time count, 1,072 were found in shelters and unsheltered locations like cars, parks, streets and sidewalks.

Coalition officials say that’s 20 more than last year.

The information also showed that 81% of homeless people in Brevard County have been on the streets for more than three years.

“They might just feel hopeless, like they are forgotten,” said Amber Carroll, with the Brevard Homeless Coalition. “But I believe everyone deserves an opportunity for housing.”