Hundreds of volunteers help out in 2024 Homeless Point-In-Time Count

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The 2024 Homeless Point-In-Time Count took place Wednesday morning.

Volunteers participated countywide from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m, helping with the annual count.

Volunteers had to go through training in order to go forth with the count.

During the count, volunteers went around the city and kept their eyes out for certain locations such as parks, creeks, under highways, or even their cars. 

The Point-In-Time Count is the annual count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness on a given day.

By doing this count, it helps communities plan services and programs that appropriately address the local needs in homelessness.

Associate Director of Santa Barbara Alliance, Landon Ranck, said “it helps us to determine the amount of resources that our community will actually get to address issues of homelessness.”

Last year, nearly 1,900 homeless people were counted in Santa Barbara County.

That is almost a 4% decrease from 2022.