Count shows almost 1,900 homeless people in SB County

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

There are nearly 1,900 homeless people in Santa Barbara County, according to preliminary results of the 2023 Point in Time Count.

That’s a decrease of almost 4% from 2022.

This year’s count was conducted on Jan. 25 by the Santa Maria/ Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care. It is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is intended to be a snapshot of homelessness in the county on a single night.

The county released the count’s statistics Thursday.

Countywide, 1,887 persons were counted. That represents a decrease of 3.7% in the number of homeless individuals from 2022.

The count includes 1,202 persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 685 persons living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. More than

77% of persons surveyed during the count reported losing housing while living in Santa Barbara County. This is down from the 2022 count of 1,962, which broke down to 1,367 unsheltered and 595 sheltered.

The 2020 count was at 1,897, with 1,223 unsheltered and 674 sheltered. In 2019, the count stood at 1,803 with 1,133 unsheltered and 670 sheltered. In 2021, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, Continuum of Care, and cities adopted a Community Action Plan to Address Homelessness in 2021. The Community Action Plan outlined key strategies and action steps.

Following adoption, 140 shelter beds and more than 800 opportunities for permanent housing have been added to the homelessness response system, according to Santa Barbara County. The county reported that

1,050 persons transitioned out of homelessness into permanent housing despite soaring rents and an extremely low rental vacancy rate in 2022. The county added that it resolved the issues around 154 encampments.

In a news release, the county said factors for its success include the Emergency Housing Voucher program.

HUD provided a total of 272 long-term rental subsidy vouchers to the Santa Barbara County and Santa Barbara city housing authorities.

“The Emergency Housing Voucher Program is helping families find housing and end their homelessness,” Sylvia Barnard, chairperson for Continuum of Care, said. “This program has been instrumental in the county of Santa Barbara’s efforts to house vulnerable and chronically homeless residents across our communities. Largely as a result of prevention and housing efforts like vouchers, the 2023 PIT count has shown a decrease in homelessness in the county,” email: kzehnder@newspress.com

The counts for 2023, 2022, and 2020 are broken down into the following areas for each year respectively: unincorporated north: 47, 79, 50; Guadalupe: 8, 2, 3; Santa Maria: 472, 457, 382; Buellton/Solvang, Santa Ynez Valley: 20, 12, 2; Lompoc: 233, 290, 211; unincorporated south: 73, 76, 61; Isla Vista: 88, 112, 69; Santa Barbara: 787, 822, 914; Goleta: 136, 91, 166 and Carpinteria: 23, 21, 239.

The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care Board will receive the complete 2023 Point in Time Count report and presentation at 2 p.m. May 4 on Zoom.

For more information, contact Kimberlee Albers, homeless assistance programs manager, at kalbers@co.santa-barbara.ca.us or 805-695-6333.