The first results of the 2023 homeless count, which were collected with the help of volunteers on January 25^thousand of this year were released today by Continuum of Care of Santa Maria and Santa Barbara Counties.

The Continuum of Care and Santa Barbara County recruited more than 400 volunteers to help collect the census results, divided into 89 subdivisions.

According to the count, 1,887 people were identified as homeless, with only 36 percent (685 people) reporting that they had shelter and the remaining 63 percent (1,202 people) being unsheltered.

Fifty-nine percent of the homeless in Santa Barbara County are in the southern counties and 41 percent are in the middle and northern counties.

Volunteers helping with the census reported that more than 77 percent of those surveyed lost their homes while living in Santa Barbara County.

While homelessness has decreased slightly since 2020, Carpinteria, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley and Guadalupe have seen increases in homelessness.

According to the 2023, 2022 and 2020 estimates, the majority of homeless people in Santa Barbara County are reported to be in the cities of Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.

In 2021, the County Board of Supervisors, Continuum of Care and the cities adopted a “Community Action Plan to End Homelessness,” which called for 140 shelter beds, 800 permanent housing spots, and help to eliminate 154 encampments.

Permanent housing resources, including a total of 272 long-term rental subsidy vouchers provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), were sent to both the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara and the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Housing Voucher Program, made available under the US Savings Plan Act, served 51,434 households across the US, including 11,681 in California.

“This program has been instrumental in Santa Barbara County’s efforts to house vulnerable and chronically homeless residents in our communities,” said Continuum of Care Chair Sylvia Barnard.

According to Santa Barbara County, 1,050 homeless people moved into permanent housing in 2022, despite a 9 percent increase in county rents and a 1.7 percent vacancy rate. Hayes Commercial Group Annual Report 2022.

Later this year, a public-private partnership between Good Samaritan Shelters, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, Marian Regional Medical Center Dignity Health, DignityMoves and Santa Barbara County will help build and open Hope Village.

“Village of Hope is a necessary and temporary first step in addressing the homeless problem in the Santa Maria Valley. The services, shelters and safety needed for those who are homeless will be there every day to ensure they can overcome their individual challenges and move forward as a member of our community,” said Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson.

For more information on the 2023 Time Point Report, contact Kimberly Albers, Manager of Homeless Assistance Programs at kalbers@co.santa-barbara.ca.us or (805) 695-6333.