Preliminary Findings Indicate Decrease in Homelessness

San Bernardino County has seen an 8 percent decrease in homelessness during the past two years, according to the results of the 2015 Point in Time Homeless Count released today by the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership. “The PITC results are encouraging. However, the high need for continued state and federal investment to reduce homelessness, such as permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing, persists,” stated Fifth District Supervisor and Chair of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, Josie Gonzales. “There is still much work to be done if we are going to reach our goal of ending homelessness in San Bernardino County.” This year’s count, conducted between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on January 22, 2015, resulted in 2,140 persons counted compared to 2,321 counted in 2013. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires biennial homeless counts from communities that receive HUD funding. The county’s incorporated cities and towns and designated non-profit agencies worked in collaboration with the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership to recruit approximately 400 volunteers to count and survey the county’s homeless. The preliminary findings provide a snapshot of homelessness on any given day and provide a baseline by which progress towards ending homelessness can be measured over the next few years. Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Third District Supervisor and Chair of the Homeless Youth Task Force, James Ramos called for continued efforts to address homelessness. “We must continue our resolve to prevent or reduce the duration of episodic and chronic homelessness in the county,” Chairman Ramos said. “It is imperative that we provide the platform for the creation and maintenance of affordable housing for individuals and families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.” The nature of homelessness makes an exact count nearly impossible. Also, numbers can vary greatly based on definitions established by funding sources and research methods. Therefore, the count process does not, nor was it intended to, convey the total number of persons experiencing homelessness in San Bernardino County throughout 2015. In comparison to other homeless counts, such as the count employed for homeless student populations, the method used by school districts is quantified under a separate HUD definition. These differences in definitions and collection methods make for inaccurate comparisons when viewed as counts alone. More important than the counts and information produced by various surveys is the identification of trends across all populations. It is the trend identification that sets the stage for agencies to design appropriate and well-balanced approaches to addressing the underlying causes of homelessness. The San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership, a collaboration of public and private agencies committed to improving homeless services coordination, uses the findings of the report for future homeless resource development and planning. The findings also help to assess the progress of the San Bernardino County 10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness and provide important information for updating the strategy. Community members who want to become involved in efforts to end homelessness should contact the Department of Behavioral Health, Office of Homeless Services, at 909-386-8297.