Homelessness in San Diego is going down, annual point-in-time count shows

S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we're talking about the county's point in time count. We'll find out what worked and what didn't work. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The results from the annual point in time counter in. And for those who don't know what that point in time count is , it's a census of how many people are experiencing homelessness in our region in a single day. The count was done back in January , and here to break down the results and share some of the biggest takeaways is Tamara Kohler. She is the CEO of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. Tamara , always good to have you here on the show. Okay.

S2: Okay. Thank you. I'm happy to be here today.

S1: Well , you know , so each year , volunteers go out into San Diego for a one day snapshot of homelessness in our region. And for those who might not know , remind us how the data is actually collected. Absolutely.

S2: Absolutely. So we use over 1700 volunteers who canvass all of San Diego County at 4:00 in the morning and go out with a mobile app , usually two at a time , out with outreach teams to engage folks experiencing homelessness. We use a survey with the mobile app to collect information. We do some observational ones when people don't want to complete the survey , so we have a really good count. We talk to people who are in tents and vehicles , so we aren't guessing. We ask how many people are in the tent and we do that work , collect it all. We have a large map that we're able to track it and see how we're doing , and all of that work is done for a single day count of where people spent their night , both sheltered and unsheltered. That gives us this data.

S1: Okay , so let's dive right into the results.

S2: Uh , we were pleasantly surprised to see a significant reduction in our veterans experiencing homelessness , both unsheltered and sheltered , on an average , about 26% reduction for a veteran homelessness. And that's across all jurisdictions. So that was really promising. We also saw a decrease in our families that are unsheltered. Uh , 72%. Pretty substantial decrease of our families being , you know , exposed to the elements on the night at the point in time count. We saw a small reduction in sheltering of families , but that was probably one of the ones that we were most pleasantly surprised to see.

S1: Well , how about youth homelessness ? Where does that stand ? Yeah.

S2: Ah. Youth homelessness. Importantly , we saw both our unsheltered about 22% down and unsheltered about 18%. So 20%. And it's important to recognize these are that young adult population. We call them transition aged , and they are the ones that are literally experiencing homelessness or in our shelters found unsheltered. And it doesn't count those that are doubling up or couch surfing. So we know that our young adult population is probably larger than what we see in the point in time count , but very promising to see a reduction. We've got some great programs in sheltering options and housing options now for that population. So it was a promising thing to see that down 20%.

S1: And homelessness among older adults , though it actually increased.

S2: You know , 1 in 4 in our shelter population are 55 or older. I think what is concerning most about our 55 year old , our seniors is more than half of them are reporting they were homeless for the very first time. Uh , we're seeing over 30% of them being women experiencing homelessness. So that trend is really a great concern and continues to outpace our system. We don't have shelters really designed for this population , and we know that many of them are just being priced out of the market , so continuing to be concerned about that. Jada also mentioned that we had a 7% increase in folks in vehicles , many of those being that senior population. So really concerned about , you know , a population where we're putting attention , but we're not seeing that go down.

S1: Well , you know , many cities across our region also saw decreases in homelessness , both sheltered and unsheltered. Talk a little bit more about that. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. You know what it was fascinating to see because we put out a report not required. Uh , the federal account just requires the bigger numbers , but we break it out for jurisdictions. And it was promising to see across nearly all of them , reductions in both shelter and unsheltered. Now , we had some shelters come online at National City. I think being one of the more prominent , larger ones that actually have a great impact in reducing unsheltered , but overall , seeing a reduction really lines up with the investments that we've been seeing. The state funding on the Encampment Resolution grant , which is really to address unsheltered encampments. And that funding allows us to go from being in unsafe , unhealthy encampments into shelter and housing. And you saw an impact , you know , great work in Vista , Carlsbad , Oceanside , some of the work in the city , some of the work along the river. So we're seeing those investments turn into reductions. And we were really pleasantly surprised to see that as well.

S1: That's great.

S2: The encampment resolution is a one time for a very specific geographic area. A lot of our challenges is being able to invest deeply enough to have an impact. But most of the funding sources , as you know , Jade , are struggling with deficit. Cities are our county is , our state is. And there's significant challenges potentially on the horizon on federal funding. So I'm , you know , it's encouraging to see a very modest reduction. Uh , also concerning , because it's taken a lot of coordination , a lot of investment , uh , month over month , really focusing on these populations. And with those investments , really cities , county and the state now having deficits and budget challenges , you know , it can have an impact on our ability to continue to have decreases and hopefully not increases.

S1:

S2: Not only are they , uh , really brilliant in their sheltering , but they are all focused on more housing outcomes , whether it is producing housing , supporting people in housing. The shallow subsidies have been really important and also just say the diversion funding , which was an investment from County , from RRF with some state funding , with philanthropic , a very large investment this year definitely had an impact in how we're seeing the numbers month over month , and I believe it's had an impact in these bigger numbers. The providers who run the shelters and are willing to support people in whether safe sleeping or safe parking , are really the heroes behind this work. They're the ones that connect with folks and can really organize their efforts , and then align them to what is the most appropriate , best resource for them. And so , you know , I appreciate you asking because they deserve the biggest shout out. And also say a lot of them are a part of our volunteers on the morning of the point in time count. And they also collect the the data that is done for the shelter count as well. So couldn't do it without them.

S1:

S2: We're not going to capture everybody. And so it's one measuring stick. It also though allows us the trends of seeing where we're going down on veterans , seeing how we're doing on our senior population , the increase in people in vehicles that's not captured anywhere else. The most effective data and work that we do is on our monthly inflow and outflow that we put out as an organization. It's also the collective work that's being done around things like the Encampment Resolution Strategies , which knows everybody in is housing by person. And the work that the veterans are doing , the Veterans Administration , with our housing authorities and our providers and monthly they're meeting on that. Those are the most impactful strategies. So this data gives us trends. We use our monthly data and our community sort of collaborative work to really drive down the numbers on a monthly basis , and that's how it all comes together. At one time , this was the only measure we had. Now we have a lot more ways to look at it and collaborate and coordinate , which I think helps us as a community really move the needle. Well.

S1: Well. While there's still work to be done in some areas , there is a promising outlook for others , like among families and veterans.

S2: I think that what you're seeing is significant , targeted , intentional work. And if we can continue to do that and have the funding to do that. You know , San Diego has a fighting chance. We're seeing our rents start to really level and not go up as much since the pandemic , which is super helpful. And the investments that have been made , I think are paying dividends. And that's , you know , that's what we want to see. We want to see measurable outcomes and accountability around all of that. For the numbers to really be able to decrease , you know , 9900 people at a minimum , Experiencing homelessness on one night is just too much. And so , you know , we need to keep doing what we know is working. And we also need to continue to lean into the promising practices as much as we can.

S1: I've been speaking with Tamara Kohler , CEO of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. Tamara , as always , thank you for joining us today.

S2: Thank you Jane.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jayde Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.