Homeless Population Increases In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA – Santa Monica's homeless population has increased by 4 percent, city officials announced following this year's homeless count.

That means volunteers counted 36 more individuals in 2017 than the 921 who lived without permanent shelter in 2016.

The results from the Jan. 24 Homeless Count, which is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to get an idea of the homeless population in Southern California communities, were discussed at Tuesday night's city council meeting, said Constance Farrell, public information officer for Santa Monica.

Within the street count, individuals sleeping in vehicles and encampments increased to 104 people from 92, Farrell said, while the shelter and institution population decreased by 8.5 percent, from 340 in 2016 to 311 in 2017.

"We are not backing down from the commitment we made in 2015 when we set homelessness as one of our top five areas of focus," said Mayor Ted Winterer. "...we have new data to benchmark our efforts and the investments we're making are smart and nimble to meet the challenges of the changing realities of homelessness."

Officials said the 4 percent increase is slight compared to the 26 percent increase from 2015 to 2016.

Local efforts to combat the homeless crisis include sending new outreach teams to high-impact public spaces to connect people to services, library pop-up service fairs, and continued real-time data monitoring.

One of the Santa Monica Fire Department stations also will be dedicated to "low-acuity calls for service," many of which involve homeless patients, Farrell said.

A community toolkit will provide practical information about who to call and how to comfortably interact with homeless neighbors, Farrell said.

"In my first month here, I've been moved by the passion across Santa Monica," said Alisa Orduna, the city's new senior advisor on homelessness. "This energy will provide the momentum we need to support our homelessness neighbors while also playing a role in the regional effort to get people housed."

City News Service; Image via Shutterstock