Homeless population has slight increase

This year's count is up 6.6% from 2020, but fewer living on streets

The first count of San Bernardino County's homeless population in two years shows a jump in the number of residents in shelters and temporary housing and a minor drop in those living on the street.

The county released the results of its 2022 point-in-time count on Wednesday. According to the county, volunteers and county workers tallied 3,333 homeless residents in February, a jump of 208 people since the last count in January 2020, when 3,125 homeless residents were reported. The county found one less resident living on the streets in February compared to January 2020, and 209 more residents were in shelters or housing provided to them.

The 2021 count was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the 6.6% increase in the homeless census reported Wednesday is smaller than the double-digit percentage growth in homelessness reported in 2020, 2019 and 2018.

San Bernardino Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman praised the county's efforts in a news release Wednesday.

“However, our work is just beginning,” he said, promising a

“homeless strategic action plan” to reduce homelessness throughout the county.

Other findings in the report:

• 79.2% of the county’s homeless residents were living in Barstow, Colton, Fontana, Ontario, Redlands, San Bernardino or Victorville.

• 27% of homeless adults and children said they became homeless in the 12months before the Feb. 24 count.

• 47% surveyed said they first became homeless in the city of San Bernardino.

• 22% of the homeless adults said they’d been released from prison or jail during the previous 12 months (the same results emerged from the 2020 and 2019 counts).

• 43.5% of homeless adults surveyed had been homeless for a year or more and had a condition such as mental illness, chronic health condition or a physical disability.

“We also must provide wraparound services such as mental health care, addiction treatment, financial counseling and other aid that helps people rebuild their lives,” Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford, who serves on the county’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, is quoted as saying in the county news release Wednesday.

“The county’s (forthcoming) homeless strategic action plan brings all of our programs, services, and partners together so we can address the root causes of homelessness and help people get off the streets for good,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities seeking federal homelessness program funding to canvass for homeless residents every two years. San Bernardino County, like many other Southern California counties and cities, conducts the survey annually, taking a snapshot of its homeless population.

HUD considers a person homeless if they live in a place not meant for human habitation, including cars, parks, sidewalks or abandoned buildings; an emergency shelter; or transitional housing.

According to San Bernardino County, about 600 community volunteers and dozens of local agencies participated in this year’s count.