SAN DIEGO
The number of people who became homeless for the first time more than doubled last year, a possible result of the pandemic and a concerning trend that could worsen when eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs end.
In its Homeless Crisis Response System report from 2020, the Regional Task Force on the Homeless found the number of first-time homeless people in the county increased from 2,326 in 2019 to 4,152 in 2020, a 79 percent jump. The previous year saw a 6 percent decrease from 2018.
Among households, first-time homelessness increased from 1,910 to 3,450 last year, up 81 percent. The previous year saw a 3 percent decrease.
“It is unknown if COVID-19 is the reason for the increase in 2020 as there have been eviction moratoriums in place at the federal and state levels, but it is well-known that the pandemic strained employment, health care, and housing configurations, which may have contributed to the increase,” the report stated.
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) has created a Data and Performance Analysis of the region’s Homelessness Crisis Response System for 2020.
The report is intended to help service providers, elected officials, policy makers and members of the community to better understand how the region’s systems are performing toward helping San Diego’s homeless residents.
All data comes from the region’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which tracks people’s participation in homeless services in real time, as opposed to the annual Point-In-Time (PIT) count, which is once-a-year census of people living in shelters and on the streets.
Roberts is the chief executive officer of PATH and PATH Ventures, and a board member of the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless and 211 San Diego. He lives in Downtown San Diego.
Although homelessness sometimes seems like an unsolvable problem, right now there is strong political alignment across the region to do everything we can to get people off the streets and into homes. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria recently announced new approaches to addressing encampments and the county of San Diego just created a new Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities.
Housing First has long been the model that elected officials and service providers have embraced because it prioritizes placing someone into a permanent home and then focuses on stabilization by providing much needed services.
Skip to main content You can t call this population - Christian Assistance Ministry brings vaccine to San Antonio s homeless community
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Miranda Garcia reacts after receiving her vaccine at Christian Assistance Ministry. CAM partnered with the San Antonio Fire Department and Metro Health to provide more than 70 vaccines to the unhoused population from around San Antonio. Outreach workers spent the previous day visiting camps to talk to people and convince them to get vaccinated.Jessica Phelps /San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less
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“Happy” and his dog King wait for 15 minutes after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at Christian Assistance Ministry. CAM partnered with the San Antonio Fire Department and Metro Health to provide more than 70 vaccines to the unhoused population from around San Antonio. Outreach workers spent the previous day visiting camps to talk to people and convince them to get vaccinated.Jessica Phelps /San Antoni
Dee Taylor, director of the county s community development department, said in an email that the county s Continuum of Care normally conducts the study with a team of volunteers who are dispatched to conduct face-to-face interviews and collect information. The group opted out of the unsheltered count to prevent spreading COVID-19, butis looking into how it conducts the study for the future, she said.
The county hasn t identified any other groups who have conducted an unsheltered count in January, Taylor said.
Data from this year s sheltered count wasn t readily available by the time this story went to publication. Taylor said any current numbers might be preliminary, and that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development usually works to confirm the report toward the end of April.