Will San Diego Keep Its Title of Area With 4th Largest Homeless Population?

It’s too soon to tell if San Diego will retain its title of being the area with the 4th largest homeless population. Even though the official homeless count numbers are in, HUD has not determined the order of cities currently with the most homeless.But San Diego is proud to have retained this position since 2015.

It’s done everything it can to increase the numbers – and so has California in general.So, while homeless advocates and government grant writers await the final results of the yearly national contest, we can still look at the numbers we have.

The San Diego County’s Regional Task Force on the Homeless found the county’s homeless population total at 8,102. The task force’s 2019 Point-In-Time Count survey determined there are 4,476 unsheltered people in the county, with 3,626 classified as sheltered.

Officially, these numbers are both down from last year’s observed total of 8,576 and the 2017 total of 9,116. Unofficially critics say the number of people counted living in their vehicles is way off.

Broken down by region, here’s the county totals:

• City of San Diego: 2,600 unsheltered homeless people, 2,473 sheltered homeless people;
• East County (Alpine [Crest-Dehesa], El Cajon, La Mesa, Lakeside, Lemon Grove, Santee, Spring Valley [Casa de Oro]): 563 unsheltered, 489 sheltered;
• North County Inland (Escondido [NC Metro & Hidden Meadows], Fallbrook, Poway, Ramona, San Marcos, Vista [Bonsall]): 493 unsheltered, 292 sheltered;
• North County Coastal (Carlsbad, Encinitas [San Dieguito, Solana Beach & Del Mar], Oceanside): 471 unsheltered, 293 sheltered;
• South County (Chula Vista [Sweetwater], Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City): un sheltered 349, sheltered 79

Here are notable statistics that came from the homeless count:

• 10 percent of unsheltered San Diegans are military veterans
• 36 percent of unsheltered San Diegans reported having a physical disability
• 78 percent of unsheltered San Diegans reported becoming homeless in San Diego

2015 was the year San Diego gained its title. Here’s a report from Los Angeles Times Nov. 27, 2015:

So, if San Diego is fourth, who’s on first? In 2018 –

1. New York had the largest homeless population with 78,676 people,
2. Los Angeles with 49,955 and
3. Seattle/King County, Washington with 12,112.

San Jose/Santa Clara City and County was fifth with 7,254 people.

What about the rest of Southern California?

• Los Angeles County in 2018 was 52,765;
• Orange County, volunteers counted 6,860 people in 2019, up 43% from 4,792 in 2017 when the last count was administered.
• San Bernardino County, the number jumped 23% to 2,607 since 2018.
• Riverside County, volunteers counted 2,811 homeless people in January, 22% more than last year.
• Ventura County, the official number increased by 28%, from 1,299 people to 1,669.

laist

And California in general? Here are some statistics to make you proud:

• Last year’s count revealed that about 130,000 Californians were homeless; n
• early a quarter of the national total.
• California’s rate of homelessness, 33 per 10,000 residents, was among the highest in the country.
• the vast majority of homeless Californians (69%) were unsheltered, meaning they were living in streets, parks, or other locations not meant for human habitation—the highest rate in the nation;
• among homeless veterans, California has the nation’s highest share that are unsheltered (67%);
• and among homeless youth, the share that are unsheltered (80%) ranks second highest.

What about the whole country?

According to a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the country’s homeless population has increased slightly for the second year in succession . It now stands at 553,000 with 65 percent of that total living in sheltered accommodation. 17 out of every 10,000 people in the U.S. has now experienced homelessness on a single night in 2018.

Here’s some more fun stats:

• Half of all homeless people are in one of five states –
  • California (129,972),
  • New York (91,897),
  • Florida (31,030),
  • Texas (25,310) and
  • Washington (22,304).
  • More than half of the homeless population are scattered across the country’s 50 biggest cities.
  • Nearly a quarter of them live in just two cities – New York and Los Angeles.
  We’re holding our breath until HUD does the list for this year. Until then, maybe Gov. Newsom has a plan.
  Sources:
  10News
  San Diego Union-Tribune

  statista

  laist

  Public Policy Institute of California