Homeless solutions updated after recent numbers are released with current trends in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Supervisors have new numbers to reflect on when deciding what can be done to battle homelessness.

The Point in Time one-day count took place on the morning of January 24, using volunteers and outreach groups to find those who are homeless and document where they are and what the numbers are in all of the county areas where they could be found.

That included people living in camps and in cars.

The report shows 2,119 persons experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness were counted, representing a 12% increase when compared to the count in January 2023. The majority, 65%, were in the south county. The increase showed up in categories including first time homeless persons living in vehicles and families with children.

The board has recommended actions including an Encampment Resolution effort for removal of debris and biohazards through June 30, 2026, utilizing existing 2021 American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funding (ARPA) approved by the Board for the Homeless Encampment Strategy. 

The report also said, over 1,400 persons transitioned out of homelessness into permanent housing during calendar year 2023, and the County has opened two large interim housing projects in the last 30 days (Hope Village and La Posada), that are large enough in scale to significantly reduce unsheltered homelessness in their respective neighborhoods. However, the overall number of unhoused families and individuals increased during this same calendar year and the number of persons accessing services has increased from 3,323 in 2021 to 4,333 in 2023. The county said there are over 300 other permanent housing units dedicated to persons experiencing homelessness in the development pipeline.

One of the new indicators from the count shows 50% are homeless for the first time. That it is outpacing the expansion of services and permanent housing opportunities.

Among the reasons are, the lack of affordable housing, lingering inflation, the level of available wages versus rent costs, and the end of COVID-era eviction moratoriums, emergency housing vouchers and rental assistance programs. The county said that is impacting the ability for people to remain housed in our community. 

The county is planning to continue programs to create more safe and affordable housing options. That could include private property owners. The county is also working to have medical care and mental health care as needed to assist those in housing transition programs.

There are also programs using philanthropists and foundations being considered to assist in housing programs

Efforts to clean camps has also been included in the report. It showed about 70 tons of waste was removed from camps, including needles, biohazard waste and propane tanks.

(More details, photos and video will be added later today.)