Total county homelessness count may be misleading

The most recent count of those experiencing homelessness in Orange County suggests that homelessness has decreased — but officials say this count could be inaccurate.

According to the Point-in-Time Count taken in January by the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, the total number of homeless people in the county decreased from 129 in 2015 to 80 in 2016. The count includes anyone living in shelters and transitional housing.

“I wouldn’t even go so far as to say homelessness has decreased — the Point-in-Time number has decreased,” said Corey Root, homeless programs coordinator at the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness.

Maggie West, program coordinator at the Community Empowerment Fund, said she believes the count is not conclusive in determining how many people are actually homeless in the county. She said there has not been a decrease in demand for services required by those suffering from homelessness.

Root said the count is done on one night, and adverse weather could have negatively affected the count.

Root said the partnership is working to figure out if homelessness has actually decreased. Regardless, the ability to provide affordable housing to those experiencing homelessness has been greatly impacted by rising housing prices, she said.

Allison De Marco, chair of the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, said transitional housing programs — such as those provided by the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service and CEF — work to get people off the streets and into affordable housing but have been challenged by rising housing prices.

The lack of affordable housing resulted in extended stays and longer wait-lists for housing services, she said.

West said there are very few affordable housing options for the homeless in Orange County, and this has increased the need for many individuals to stay with friends or family, moving from couch to couch.

The Point-in-Time count does not include individuals who are temporarily staying with a friend or relative, according to the PIT report.

Root said one explanation for the noted decrease in homelessness is the closing of the homeless shelter. The shelter closed last year and reopened as a transitional house, she said, meaning people housed in the shelter stay there longer.

De Marco said the lack of an emergency shelter system might have caused this decrease in the homeless count, as people need to move away to receive those types of services.

The lack of an emergency shelter system will be addressed at the next partnership meeting, De Marco said.

Root said whether there has been an actual significant decrease in homelessness, the collaboration between the partnership and related agencies has been crucial in addressing homelessness.

“There is a lot of excellent work going on,” she said.

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