For the first time in seven years, the local homeless population in Long Beach has decreased year over year, but officials in neighboring Orange County are disappointed to find that the homeless population continues to increase.
Point-in-time counts conducted in January documented different trends. These surveys are designed to provide an on-the-ground picture of homelessness to help identify needs in specific communities and develop local responses.
Long Beach officials said that at the latest count, 3,376 people were homeless, a 2.1% decrease from the 3,447 people in 2023.
Records show it’s the first decline since 2017, when the city’s homeless population stood at 1,863.
Mayor Rex Richardson said he was encouraged by the results of the annual count, which is required for cities with their own continuum of care by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which coordinates funding for housing and homeless services. management agency. Long Beach, Glendale and Los Angeles all have their own continuums of care.
“It’s clear that the work the city is doing to address homelessness is starting to turn a corner,” Richardson said at a news conference this week. “These numbers let us know we are on the right track and must keep working.”
Homeless Count found that more than 70 percent of homeless people in Long Beach are unsheltered, meaning they live in tents, temporary shelters or vehicles.
Slightly more than half of those surveyed said it was their first time taking to the streets. Most cited family issues, mental health and eviction as factors.
Homelessness in the city fell by about 50% among those ages 18 to 24, by 37% among minors, and by 9.4% among those ages 54 to 64. The number of people who can return home has increased.
There were also declines among female, black and Latinx residents, the groups most at risk of homelessness.
City officials said last year’s emergency declaration on homelessness helped bolster outreach services, shelter bed capacity and mental health counseling. Officials said it would also help streamline the approval process for affordable housing projects from one year to 60 days.
Although the emergency proclamation expired in February, city officials say it provides a model for how the city can address homelessness in the long term.
As a result, Deputy City Manager Teresa Chandler announced the creation of the Office of Homeless Strategies, which will serve as a hub for departments, external agencies, service providers and community stakeholders working to address homelessness. “Junction”.
Richardson said he hopes the city can maintain momentum.
“We have to stay focused,” he said. “Now is not the time to change strategy, now is the time to double down on the gains we’ve seen and continue to make meaningful change.”
Meanwhile, east of the port city, Orange County officials recorded a 28% increase in homelessness in the area.
The county’s biannual point-in-time results showed 7,322 people were homeless in January, up from 5,718 in January 2022.
The number of homeless people experiencing homelessness increased by 37%, and the number of homeless people in shelters increased by 18%.
Doug Brecht, director of the county’s Office of Care Coordination, attributed part of the increase to the end of coronavirus-era initiatives that provided families with financial support and housing-related protections, such as an eviction moratorium.
Brecht said county officials are relieved that the region’s chronically homeless population has declined for the first time since 2019, and that the rate of homeless population growth over the past five years remains lower than that of the state and surrounding counties. growth rate.
County officials said they plan to further increase shelter bed capacity, expand outreach services and build more affordable housing.
Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Donald Wagner expressed mixed reactions to the results in a statement.
“While homelessness has increased in Orange County, it has only increased by a relatively small 7 percent over the past five years,” he said. “However, we recognize there is still much work to be done.”
Supervisor Doug Chaffee expressed disappointment but said the homeless numbers also provide important information about how the county can do better.
“This point in time is not just a head count, it’s an assessment of how well we’re doing,” he said. “It’s easy to say, ‘We need more housing.’ We do, but there are other components.
Chaffee said one area the county needs further study is how to prevent people from falling into homelessness in the first place while also working to increase housing production in the area.
“This is the cork in the bottle,” he said. “That’s how we solve growth problems.”
