Anonymous
Source: County of Santa Barbara
Preliminary results of the 2022 Point in Time (PIT) Count of persons experiencing homelessness was released today. Conducted on February 23, 2022 by the Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care (CoC), the Count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and serves as a snapshot of homelessness in the county on a single night. The County and CoC provided oversight of the PIT Count, working as the Administrative Entity for the CoC, Simtech Solutions and more than 400 volunteers.
Countywide, 1,962 persons were counted representing an increase of 3.4% in the number of persons experiencing homelessness. The count includes 1,367 persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 595 persons living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. In 2020, the official PIT count was 1,897.
The CoC and County of Santa Barbara recruited more than 400 volunteers to assist at 5:30 a.m. to canvas 89 census tracts across the county. The methodology is in alignment with national best practices, relies on geographic coverage, and has remained consistent since 2019. A mobile application from Simtech Solutions provided real-time data to logistics centers from volunteers out canvasing and counting. Temperatures, on the night of the count, were under 40 degrees with rain in some locations. Outreach workers and volunteers shared that they had difficulty locating unsheltered persons in areas frequently inhabited by persons experiencing homelessness.
|
Year |
Homeless Sheltered |
Homeless Unsheltered |
Total Homeless persons |
|
2019 |
670 |
1,133 |
1,803 |
|
2020 |
674 |
1,223 |
1,897 |
|
2022 |
595 |
1,367 |
1,962 |
The County of Santa Barbara Housing and Community Service Department recruited more than 500 volunteers to assist, including over 400 people who showed up at 5:30 a.m. to canvas 89 census tracts across the county.
“The Point in Time Count has identified the ongoing need to allocate resources and for the community to respond to best meet the needs of our houseless neighbors.” stated CoC Chairperson, Sylvia Barnard, in response to the PIT results.
Table 2 provides total count data by city or area for all three years when the same methodology was used for counting. The population was distributed throughout the county: 1,178 (60%) persons counted in south county, 784 (40%) persons counted in mid/north county. The homeless population counted in unincorporated areas, Lompoc and Santa Maria increased. Counts decreased in nearly all areas along the South coast, with the exception of Isla Vista. The significant change in Isla Vista was due to an increase in persons located in vehicles on and near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.
|
Area |
2022 |
2020 |
2019 |
|
Carpinteria |
21 |
39 |
21 |
|
Goleta |
91 |
166 |
119 |
|
Santa Barbara |
822 |
914 |
887 |
| Isla Vista | 112 | 69 | 33 |
| Lompoc | 290 | 211 | 249 |
| Buellton/Solvang/Santa Ynez Valley | 12 | 2 | 5 |
| Santa Maria | 457 | 382 | 464 |
| Guadalupe | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Unincorporated | 155 | 111 | 24 |
| Totals | 1962 | 1897 | 1806 |
The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care promotes community-wide planning and strategic use of resources and programs targeted to people experiencing homelessness. The County of Santa Barbara serves as the lead agency and Administrative Entity for the CoC. The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care Board will receive a presentation of the 2022 PIT Count on May 5 at 2 p.m. via Zoom.
For additional details on the 2022 Point in Time report, contact Kimberlee Albers, Homeless Assistance Programs Manager at kalbers@co.santa-barbara.ca.us or (805) 560-1090.
As Americans, we are a generous people; we have just allocated 6.3 billion dollars to help Ukraine. With an estimated 20,000 homeless nationwide, this stipend would have allowed approximately $20,000 dollars per streetperson.
The last time I was in an airplane, I was told that if something went wrong and the oxygen masks deployed, I should save myself first and then help those around me. Is this the “Isolationist Theory”? Should we be attempting to save the world while the problems in our own first class seats multiply and fester? I don’t know. I don’t know how my grandchildren will pay for all of this.
Is $20,000 your threshold?
Thats $27,350,000 for the 1367 not in shelters in SB County.
Sound like it can be done
But
The City of LA just spent $437,000 per person to house 87 people in permanent housing (permanent housing means the house is a permanent fixture, the residency of the the homeless person in that permanent housing may actually be less than a day)
$37, 149,000
With accelerating climate changes your grandkids will have other worries.
Homeless count?? Ok, anyone w a brain will tell you it’s going up and up. And to Tee Gee – who would have the nerve to compare a legitimate humanitarian crisis and possibly the start of another world war – to our local situation, well I think you’re clueless.
Children, elderly, an entire ethnic group are getting blasted, displaced, and killed.
Wake up Tee Gee – it’s insulting to read what you wrote.