Larger picture revealed for Santa Cruz County homelessness – Santa Cruz Sentinel
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SANTA CRUZ — As the City of Santa Cruz continues to disperse its largest homeless encampment from a city park in phased evictions, a countywide analysis released Friday details the social epidemic’s larger picture.
Last month’s high-level results of the federally mandated point-in-time count — Santa Cruz County’s first in three years — revealed an estimated 6% increase in the overall homeless population. During a five-hour canvass in the early morning hours of Feb. 28, some 2,299 individuals without housing were counted, compared to 2,167 counted in January 2019. Of this year’s total, more than 77% — 1,774 — was without shelter.
In Santa Cruz County jurisdictions, the count of homeless individuals was highest in unincorporated areas, with a collective tally of 1,888 — up nearly 20% since 2019. In a city-by-city breakdown, Santa Cruz totaled the most individuals without housing, with 1,439 people counted, also up 20% from 2019. Watsonville dropped 1% to 366 people, while Scotts Valley jumped four to 48 people and Capitola from six to 35 people counted.
While the report demonstrates strides in countywide efforts to reduce the number of homeless families — a 59% reduction from 2019, it also highlights an apparent spike in veteran homelessness. The census counted 332 veterans, nearly all of whom — 93% — were unsheltered in 2022. That number marked a 120% increase over the 2019 tally. Some seven months later, members of a coalition of organizations with a focus on veteran homelessness are questioning the census results. A so-called “by-name” list tracking individual homeless veterans maintained by Housing Matters, Nation’s Finest, HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing and the Department of Veterans Affairs Coordinated Entry, calculates there are only 52 veterans without housing in Santa Cruz County, as of September.
“This year’s PIT count doesn’t align with what we’re seeing in our Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, or the data compiled through our campus services including the mailroom, bathrooms and showers,” Tom Stagg, Housing Matters’ chief initiatives officer is quoted in a media release issued after last month’s preliminary county was released. “In fact, it appears that numbers of veterans experiencing homelessness in the County may actually be declining.”
Veterans experiencing homelessness may contact Housing Matters’ intake and assessment specialist at 831-222-0127.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development relies on data collected in the point-in-time count from each regional “continuum of care” to determine how it distributes federal homeless funding dollars. Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health Partnership receives about $5.2 million annually in federal funding, based on what has traditionally been a biennial count. Housing for Health Partnership leadership expect to conduct the point-in-time counts annually, going forward.
The full 45-page 2022 County of Santa Cruz Homeless Count and Survey Comprehensive Report revealed trends extrapolated from surveys collected from 333 people from Feb. 28 to March 28. Continuing its upward march since at least 2015, the survey found that the leading cause of homelessness for 37% of respondents was an eviction, for the first time pushing ahead of job loss, at 33%, in seven years. Individuals facing eviction or who are at risk of homelessness may text “Rent” to 211211 or call 211 for resources and services managed by the United Way. View the full report online at housingforhealthpartnership.org, under “Learning Center,” “Data and Reports.”
Data collected by Watsonville-based social research firm Applied Survey Research, on behalf of the Housing for Health Partnership, showed that:
• Race: Persons identifying as Black or African American rose from 1 % to 12% of the homeless population in 2022, compared to the 1% of the general population that group comprises countywide.
• Residence: Respondents who indicated they had lived in Santa Cruz County before losing their housing rose from 74% in 2019 to 89% in 2022.
• Needs: Rental assistance, for 89% of respondents, was the most common support cited as needed to obtain permanent housing, ahead of money for moving costs, at 74%.
• Job: Employment among respondents fell 11% from 2019, with 20% reporting that they had had some type of job.
• Addiction: Respondents experiencing a self-reported substance-use disorder, the most common disabling health condition, increased 37% from 2019, to 67%.
• Criminal justice: Respondents indicating they were on probation or parole when they most recently became homeless rose 11% from 2019, to a total of 29%.
• Recurrent: At roughly 40% of the population, an estimated 921 persons were experiencing chronic homelessness, an increase from 19% three years ago.
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