Results of City of Santa Monica’s 2010 Homeless Count
Shows Near 19% Reduction in Homelessness
At the Social Services Commission meeting on February 22, the City of Santa Monica presented the findings of the citywide 2010 Homeless Count conducted on January 27, 2010. The point-in-time count revealed an overall decrease of 18.9% in the number of homeless individuals on the streets and in shelters and institutions within the city, as compared to the city’s 2009 Homeless Count.
This year’s results are based on a one-year comparison between 2009 and 2010. Key findings include:
The overall homeless population declined 18.9% from 2009. The point-in-time homeless count is 742; this includes a point-in-time street homeless population of 264, a shelter and institutions population of 423 individuals, and 55 cars/encampments. 71% were single individuals, while 29% were members of families. 423 individuals were counted in shelters and institutions; 71% were single individuals, while 29% were members of families. There was a 68% reduction in the number of identified encampments and a 59% reduction in the number of people identified living in cars as compared to 2009.
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This reduction is consistent with findings in urban areas across the county over the past several years, which is acknowledged to be due to changes in federal priorities, better data collection methods, and expanded access to affordable housing for homeless and at-risk households. The City acknowledges that a visual point-in-time count is useful in telling us “what” is happening in our city, but alone, it cannot fully reveal “why”. This local reduction could be attributable to a number of factors, including the City’s implementation of the Action Plan to Address Homelessness, better collaboration and coordination of services, new housing subsidies and rental assistance programs, and innovative programs such as the Homeless Community Court and Project Homecoming. Over the next six months, the City will do additional analysis of this data, comparing it with data from our service providers and regional partners to try to establish if this is truly a sustainable trend.
Santa Monica’s Homeless Count data is used to measure the City’s successes, identify challenges and help coordinate strategies and resources for reducing homelessness. The count is also critical to ensure the City receives a fair share of federal, state and county resources to provide necessary services.
In 2009, the City of Santa Monica opted to begin conducting a citywide survey on an annual basis. This commitment goes above and beyond the federal and regional requirements to conduct biannual homeless counts. The community responded with equal enthusiasm and dedication, with over 160 community members turning out to walk and drive every street, park, alley and underpass to enumerate homeless individuals in the City over the course of one evening.
Employing the improved methodology implemented in the 2009 Homeless Count, which included a complete visual enumeration of all 19 census tracts in the city, the City has been able to more accurately compare results to 2009 and provide the most complete count findings to date. The data will serve as a benchmark from which future changes in the homeless population can be tracked and used to evaluate the success of local efforts to reduce homelessness. Last year, the 2009 Count showed an overall reduction of 8% city-wide as compared to 2007.
For more information about the event and the City of Santa Monica’s Action Plan on Homelessness, please visit: www.smgov.net/homelessness_action
Fabian Lewkowicz