Santa Cruz County Homeless Population Decreases Slightly

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Homelessness in Santa Cruz County has dipped slightly, according to preliminary figures published this week from the county's 2019 Point-In-Time count. According to the numbers, there were 2,167 homeless people in the county during the count conducted on January 31. The figure represents a 3.6 percent decline from 2017.

Important statistics officials are eyeing from the 2019 count include: of the more than 2,100 homeless persons countywide, 1,700 had no shelter; and youth and family homelessness showed slight increases over the 2017 figures. However, chronic veteran homelessness decreased by nearly one-third.

"With the heartbreaking increases in homelessness in many communities across California, this is positive news. But it's not a victory," Santa Cruz County Homeless Services coordinator Rayne Marr said. "Homelessness is unacceptably high in Santa Cruz County, with families and individuals suffering and impacts being felt throughout the community, and we hope this data marks a turning point in reducing homelessness."

While Santa Cruz County saw a slight decrease in its homeless population, other California counties have experienced significant increases, including: Santa Clara (+31.3%), Alameda (+42.5%), San Francisco (+16.8%), Contra Costa (+42.8%), Los Angeles (+7.3%), Orange (+43.1%) and others.

Like Santa Cruz County, some counties have experienced a decline in their homeless populations, including Marin (-7.4%), Santa Barbara (-3.1%), and San Diego (-11.5%).

The complete 2019 Point-in-Time Count report is still being prepared and will be released later this summer. The 2019 PIT Count was conducted January 31 and was overseen by Watsonville-based Applied Survey Research.

For more information about Santa Cruz County's homelessness, visit http://www.sccoplanning.com/…/HAP(HomelessActionPartnership…