San Bernardino County’s homeless population grew by 1 percent during the past year, compared to 26 percent last year and 6.6 percent the year before, a good indication that the county and its city and community partners are building momentum in their efforts to move residents off the streets.
Data from the Jan. 25 San Bernardino County Point-in-Time Count (PITC) showed the county’s homeless population grew by 42 total individuals, from 4,195 to 4,237. It also showed a 3.1 percent decrease in the number of sheltered homeless individuals, defined as those who were in a public or private shelter that provided temporary living arrangements at the time of the count.
The total number of unsheltered homeless individuals counted this year represents an increase of 79 individuals, or 2.6%, compared to the 2023 PITC.
“This data shows a flattening of our homeless numbers, which is a promising sign that we are heading in the right direction,” said Fourth District Supervisor Curt Hagman, who along with Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr., serves on the County Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee.
“The County of San Bernardino is taking significant strides to address this issue head-on,” said Baca, Jr. “We are investing in projects like Kern Street and Pacific Village to provide essential services like substance use treatment and recuperative care beds. These efforts are crucial for improving the health and well-being of our community.”
In September 2023, Board of Supervisors Chairman and Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe initiated the formation of the ad hoc committee under the direction of County Chief Executive Officer Luther Snoke. The purpose of the committee was to delve deeper into the root causes of homelessness and provide recommendations to the full Board of Supervisors on policies, strategies, and collaborative opportunities that could be adopted to address the issue.
Earlier in 2023, the Board of Supervisors allocated $72.7 million towards a Homelessness Spending Plan, with an additional $20 million in funding reserved for bridging the gaps in current projects. This was in addition to the County Department of Behavioral Health’s efforts in securing nearly $89 million in grant funding for the establishment or expansion of facilities and beds.
Over 500 volunteers including members of the Board of Supervisors fanned out throughout San Bernardino County on Jan. 25 to conduct the annual homeless PITC.
The homeless count and subpopulation survey was a joint effort of the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership, the San Bernardino County Office of Homeless Services and the Institute for Urban Initiatives. There were 24 cities and towns that contributed staff time and office space for the training and deployment of volunteers and 24 law enforcement agencies that provided their time, knowledge and expertise regarding locations of homeless persons. There were several non-profit agencies, faith-based organizations, homeless providers and county departments that also helped with the process.
To conduct the count, Esri’s ArcGIS software platform was used. The 2024 Homeless PITC was a configuration of Survey 123 for ArcGIS and Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS. A digital survey form was designed to simplify the surveyor’s experience as only relevant questions were displayed based on the answers input, eliminating the need for surveyors to devote time and effort to determining which questions to ask and resulting in a streamlined surveying experience. An added benefit of using digital surveys was the capture of location information. When a survey was conducted, the global positioning system (GPS) location of the surveyor’s mobile device was captured, providing the geographic location of where the survey took place, and opening opportunities for mapping and analyses.