Title
Receive and Accept the 2017 Monterey County Homeless Census and Survey Report.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive and Approve the 2017 Monterey County Homeless Census and Survey Report
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Every two years during the last two weeks of January, communities across the country conduct comprehensive counts of the local population experiencing homelessness. The biennial Point-in-Time counts of sheltered and unsheltered persons are required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for all jurisdictions receiving federal funding to provide homeless services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Monterey County receives approximately $2 million in Continuum of Care (CoC) federal funding that supports county non-profit shelter and homeless service providers. The 2017 Monterey County Point-in-Time Count was a community-wide effort conducted on January 25, 2017. The results of the homeless count are enumerated in the 2017 Monterey County Homeless Census and Survey Report.
The Monterey County Homeless Census has two primary components: a point-in-time enumeration of unsheltered homeless individuals and families (those sleeping outdoors, on the street, in parks, or vehicles, etc.) and a point-in-time enumeration of homeless individuals and families residing in temporary shelter (e.g. emergency shelter, transitional housing, or using stabilization rooms).
On January 25, 2017, there were 2,837 individuals experiencing homelessness. This represents an increase of 23% from 2015 and is the largest number recorded in the past 10 years. Of all individuals experiencing homelessness counted in the Monterey County census, nearly a third (32%) were staying in vehicles, a quarter (25%) were living on streets, twenty-six percent (26%) were staying in shelters (either emergency shelters or transitional housing), and seventeen percent (17%) were found to be in encampments or abandon...
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