WHY 1,600 PEOPLE VOLUNTEERED TO COUNT OUR HOMELESS POPULATION
On a cold early January morning, more than 1,600 volunteers headed into the darkness to make a difference. Leaving from 37 sites stretching from Oceanside to Chula Vista and Pacific Beach to Santee, these volunteers had one mission — documenting how many of their neighbors were sleeping on our streets, in our canyons and in their cars for the 2023 Point-in-Time count.
This annual count is led by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness as part of a federal funding mandate, but it’s fueled by our volunteers and led by outreach teams. We simply would not be able to conduct this census without their help.
The count helps us learn more about the people experiencing homelessness while raising awareness about the crisis, what’s working, and where opportunities exist. This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-required activity is an annual event in San Diego County, with many seeing the results as a scorecard of how our region is doing in its fight against homelessness.
While important, it is a snapshot in time, a minimum count, a piece of the puzzle that helps all of us gain a better understanding of this crisis. The task force combines this information with other detailed reports produced throughout the year to help service providers, elected officials and others better understand and address what has become the issue of our time.
The data collected during the annual Point-in-Time count comes with sobering stories, like when we determined the oldest person living on our streets last year was 87 years old. This solemn cataloging reminds everyone who takes part in the count that people experiencing homelessness are not just a data point. They’re mothers and brothers, daughters and grandfathers, members of our community who have fallen through the cracks in the safety net and now are experiencing tragedy and trauma on a daily basis.
The annual count includes talking to those who are willing, gathering crucial information about who is experiencing homelessness, and why. If individuals decline to talk to us, they’re still counted as a part of this effort. Beyond the early morning, volunteer-led portion of the count, the task force team members return to potential hot spots, and our regional service providers send in information about who is in their shelters on the day of the count. This helps show the magnitude of the problem we face.
The count also gives us important information about trends in our homeless population. Last year we saw more seniors and more families experiencing homelessness than before. We also had more people found outside than counted in a shelter. Black San Diegans, while making up only 5 percent of the county’s population, made up nearly 25 percent of our homeless population. We also know that the count only hints at how many people touch our system, with more than 39,000 San Diegans having some interaction with it last year. That speaks to a greater need than the 8,400 individuals we counted in 2022 indicates.
In October, the task force began producing a monthly report showing how many people are exiting homelessness compared to how many people are falling into homelessness for the first time. As a part of that research, we looked back over a 12-month period from October 2021 to September 2022. During that time, 10 people found housing for every 13 people who experienced homelessness for the first time. Over those 12 months, more people exited the system than entered in only two of those months. We have not had more people exit homelessness than enter it in our region since March 2022. That is a trend we must reverse.
While the data can feel bleak, there is good news to share. Every day someone’s experience with homelessness ends in our county. We know what works and, with the release of the task force’s Regional Community Action Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in San Diego, we understand how to make real progress over the next few years. With more support to keep people in their homes, a variety of shelter options, and, most importantly, more housing (because having a home ends homelessness), we can achieve the goal of ensuring homelessness is a rare and brief occurrence.
The challenge before us is great, but I firmly believe we are headed in the right direction when we stay focused on housing as the greatest factor to turn the tide and get us to a point when it won’t take more than 1,600 people to conduct an annual census during the pre-dawn hours on a future cold January morning.
We have not had more people exit homelessness than enter it in our region since March 2022. That is a trend we must reverse.