The point-in-time count this week of Orange County’s population that lives without stable shelter is an important tool. Becks Heyhoe, executive director of the nonprofit United to End Homelessness, says her organization uses it to identify service gaps in Orange County’s homelessness outreach and response.
In 2024, when the biennial count showed an increase in unhoused young adults ages 18 to 24, for example, Heyhoe said advocates developed a new pilot program aimed at preventing youth homelessness.
Population data allows service providers to plan more targeted outreach to groups that are falling into homelessness at higher rates, she said.
“We look at data to understand what’s shifting, how are the numbers going up or down and how to educate the public,” Heyhoe said. “If the count shows that 1,000 families are homeless, but only 200 are in shelter, for example, that tells us we need to build more shelters for families.”
After a count of those staying in local shelters Monday night, volunteers will take to the streets at the crack of dawn today to begin the tally of the region’s unsheltered population.
The point-in-time count, scheduled through Thursday, is an enormous undertaking to track the number of people sleeping in shelters, in their cars or outside on the streets. Teams of volunteers are starting this morning in Central Orange County, and they will be back out in the evening. On Wednesday, the dawn and dusk canvases move to the northern end of O.C., and on Thursday will wrap up in South Orange County.
A census of homeless people is required every two years by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It provides important demographic data such as how many families, juveniles and people with disabilities have become homeless, as well as information such as where people gather and what their needs are, officials said. Crucially, the results also determine how much state and federal funding a county receives to tackle homelessness.
“The count is a unique opportunity for people to see what homelessness looks like firsthand and feel more connected to their communities,” said Doug Becht, the director of the county’s Office of Care Coordination.
More importantly, Becht said, collecting accurate data on how many people are experiencing homelessness allows the county to apply for the necessary resources to tackle the crisis.
“It’s important not only for us to count everyone because that’s the right thing to do,” he said, “but also to ensure we’re providing the right information up to the state and federal government so we’re getting our fair share of funding.”
Becht said preparation for the biennial census took six to eight months; the county worked with local law enforcement, elected officials and outreach workers to craft survey questions and pinpoint “hotspots” where large numbers of homeless people gather and sleep for volunteers to canvas.
The 2024 count recorded more than 7,300 unhoused people in Orange County, a 28% increase from two years earlier. A little more than a third were chronically homeless, while roughly 1,100 people reported having fallen into homelessness for the first time. Among those surveyed, 869 were older adults age 62 or older, 328 were veterans and 308 were young adults between 18 and 24 years old.
The report also found that nearly 3 in 4 people living in the county-run Yale Navigation Center and Bridges at Kraemer Place were eligible for permanent housing, but only 1 out of 12 were successfully placed. Advocates said that finding illustrates the severe lack of housing capacity in Orange County.
The double-digit rise in homelessness from 2022 to 2024 can be attributed to the end of COVID-era eviction moratoriums and emergency rental assistance programs, county officials said, which had kept many people housed during the pandemic. Compared to pre-pandemic years, officials said the county’s homeless population increased by only about 7%.
Heyhoe, with the United to End Homelessness, said this year’s census results may be grim.
“For the coming count, I suspect that it’s likely we’ll continue to see an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness,” she said. “We have fewer resources to help people on the edge, people living paycheck to paycheck who are a situation away from not being able to afford rent.”
Some community advocates said the count, as informative as it may be, can provide only an imperfect snapshot of the county’s homeless community that inevitably leaves many people out.
“Individuals and families who are unhoused may be more hesitant to participate in this year’s count due to the current political and social climate, and a one-day count will not fully account for everyone who is unsheltered in each area,” said LaVal Brewer, president of the Irvine-based South County Outreach, a nonprofit that provides a food pantry, homeless prevention and rapid re-housing services.
The survey results are expected to be released in early summer.
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