Homeless Count Drops In Lake Elsinore, Across Southwest RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The number of homeless people living on the streets and in vacant lots in Southwest Riverside County cities has dropped, according to the "Riverside County Point in Time Count" results released Tuesday.

While the numbers provide only a snapshot in time, the results showed 82 unsheltered people were encountered by Point in Time volunteers during the February 23-25 counts in the cities of Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula and Wildomar.

The county's 2021 Point in Time Count was canceled due to coronavirus. Instead, a sheltered count was conducted where data was gathered based on shelter bed occupation.

In 2020, however, a complete count was conducted. It found 133 people living without shelter across the four cities.

The Point in Time Count is federally mandated and is used to demonstrate the need for federal and state funding, services and resource planning.

Of the four Southwest Riverside County cities, Temecula experienced the most significant drop in unsheltered people, according to the 2022 count. The city's figure decreased by 31 people, or 53 percent, compared to the 2020 figures when 59 people were encountered. The number of unsheltered people counted in Temecula totaled 28 in 2022, while 39 additional homeless people were reportedly living in shelters, according to the report.

In Murrieta, 12 unsheltered people were encountered in 2022, compared to 18 in 2020, a decrease of 33 percent. The 2022 figures show that an additional 149 homeless people counted in Murrieta were living in shelters.

In Lake Elsinore, 35 unsheltered people were encountered in 2022, compared to 50 in 2020, a decrease of 30 percent. An additional 40 homeless people in Lake Elsinore were living in shelters, according to the 2022 count.

Wildomar was an outlier. Seven unsheltered people were encountered in the city during 2022, compared to six in 2020, an increase of 17 percent. The 2022 count shows an additional 14 homeless people were living in shelters.

Menifee also experienced an uptick with 28 unsheltered people encountered during 2022, compared to 19 in 2020, an increase of 47 percent. The 2022 figures show that 4 homeless people counted in the city were living in shelters.

It's unclear how many people living on the streets in 2020 remained, were in shelters, left the area, or found housing. The cities of Lake Elsinore, Temecula and Wildomar contract with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for police services. The department, in conjunction with the cities, conducts "quality of life" enforcement of homeless populations living in the region. All people are offered shelter as well as substance abuse and mental health services, according to the department. Murrieta, which has its own police department, also responds to "quality of life" issues and offers services.

Countywide counts for 2022 were similar to those found in the Southwest region. For the first time in six years, the countywide results revealed an 8 percent decrease in the number of people living without shelter.

The decrease in unsheltered populations was "the result of steep housing investments made with $196 million in COVID-19 relief funding that helped 26,665 households remain housed during the pandemic," according to the county.

When taking into consideration people living in shelters, the countywide numbers were higher in 2022. This year's count identified a total of 3,316 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people throughout the county, which is 15 percent higher than the count in 2020 that found 2,884 people on the streets and in shelters.

Compared to 2020, the sheltered count increased 83 percent from 729 to 1,336 countywide. The sheltered count consists of information from a countywide homeless management system, as well as data from agencies that operate emergency domestic violence shelters, according to the county.

During the 2022 count, more than 625 volunteers fanned out across the county to interview unsheltered individuals and families. In addition to the interviews, volunteers offered residents experiencing homelessness services like housing, animal services, medical services and help obtaining documents. As a result, 49 percent of those interviewed during the general count signed up to receive follow-up services, the county reported.

“It was very important to not just interview persons experiencing homelessness, but to also connect them to services,” said Heidi Marshall, director of the county's Housing and Workforce Solutions. “The results of the count serve as a tool for effective planning and performance management toward the goal of ending homelessness for our community.”

The complete Point in Time Count results can be found here: morethanacount.org.