Agenda Item B.1
CPMS PRESENTATION
Meeting Date: July 15, 2025
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
SUBMITTED BY: JoAnne Plummer, Neighborhood Services Director PREPARED BY: Chuck Flacks, Homelessness Services Coordinator SUBJECT: County of Santa Barbara Presentation on 2025 Point-in-Time Count RECOMMENDATION:
Receive a presentation by the County of Santa Barbara’s Community Services Department on the results from the 2025 Point-in-Time Count.
BACKGROUND:
Each year, during the last ten days of January, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires communities across the country to conduct comprehensive counts of the local population experiencing homelessness. These Point- in-Time (PIT) Counts measure the prevalence of homelessness in each community and collect information about individuals and families residing in emergency shelters, transitional housing, sleeping on the streets and encampments, in ve hicles, or other places not meant for human habitation at this specific point in time.
The data from the PIT is broken down by city and a host of other demographics and shared with the public in an annual report presented by the County of Santa Barbara’s Community Services Department’s Housing and Community Development Division.
DISCUSSION:
The results from the 2025 PIT illustrate a marked increase in homelessness for the City of Goleta, specifically for people living in vehicles . The County staff from the Housing and Community Development Division will provide a presentation with detailed analysis of both the PIT observations and ongoing efforts to end homelessness (Attachment 1).
It is important to note that, while very valuable from a trend standpoint, the PIT is a single moment’s once -a-year observation of people experiencing homelessness collected by volunteers. The City of Goleta tracks the number and status of people experiencing 1 Meeting Date: July 15, 2025
homelessness through both the County of Santa Barbara’s Homelessness Management Information System, and a staff-generated by-name list.
LEGAL REVIEW BY: Isaac Rosen, City Attorney
APPROVED BY: Robert Nisbet, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Update on Homelessness by the County of Santa Barbara 2 Attachment 1
2025 Goleta Presentation
3 Update on
Homelessness
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA | GOLETA CITY COUNCIL
JULY 15, 2025
4 Agenda
• Key trends in homelessness for 2024
• 2025 Point in T ime count
• System-wide d ata trends
5 Data Sources
County staff consider all data sources when developing response strategies.
Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS)
• Required by the Department of Housing and Urban
D
evelopment.
• Our most reliable source of real-t ime data.
• The Coordinated Entry System (CES) uses this system
as
the basis for matching and referrals to housing.
• HMIS users receive ongoing training and technical
s
upport from County staff.
• Provides a comprehensive look at system efficiencies
an
d bottle-necks.
• Is considered the system of record for HUD data
r
eporting.
Point in Time Count (PIT)
• Required by the Department of Housing and Urban
D
evelopment.
• A snapshot of homelessness on a single night during
t
he last 10 days in January.
• When possible, information is collected by
v
olunteers and agency staff.
• This information is extrapolated across all
o
bservational counts.
• A great way to get the community involved and raise
a
wareness of homelessness.
• Produces “sound bite” style data that is easily used
t
o determine future funding levels and communicate
with the public.
6 Key Trends
7 Key Trends in the
County-wide
Homelessness
Response System
• 4,457 individuals accessing services
• Growth rate slowed from >10% to <3%
People Experiencing
Homelessness (HMIS)
• 1,712 – 38% of people accessing services
• Down from 2,216 in 2023
People Accessing
Services for the First
Time (HMIS)
• 1,368 people transitioned out of
homelessness
People Achieving
Housing (HMIS)
• 962 people counted in 2025
• Up from 710 in the 2024 PIT count
People Living in
Vehicles (PIT)
8 3323
3909
4333 4457
0 500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
2021 2022 2023 2024
• The growth rate in the
number of people
accessing services has
slowed year over years.
• The total number of people
counted as homeless
continues to rise, especially
those living in vehicles.
• The number of people
experiencing homelessness
represents about 1% of the
total County population.
424
+10.8%
124
+2.9%
586
+17.6%
Number of People Accessing Services
The known “total homeless”
HMIS
9 1528 1689
2072 2216
1712
885 969 1170
1428 1368
0 500
1000
1500
2000
2500
CY 2020 CY 2021 CY 2022 CY 2023 CY 2024
Accessing Services for the First Time Exiting the System into Permanent Housing Those Newly Accessing Services vs Those Exiting to Housing HMIS
• When these lines intersect,
our community will
approach "functional zero,“
or where entries equal or
fall below exits.
• Most of the growing
subpopulation of
vehicular homeless is
not included here.
• The top blue line only
reflects individuals who
reported experiencing
homelessness for the first
time in the calendar year
indicated – a subset of the
numbers on the previous
slide
643
344
788
902
720
10 • Resolved 102 encampments, 100 people entering shelter, and 64 people obtaining housing.
• 151 individuals connected to services in the first 10 months of CERF 3.
Encampment Response
• 359 people served, including 275 experiencing chronic homelessness.
• 56 people have achieved permanent housing.
Two New Interim Housing Facilities
• Buena Tierra opened its doors to permanently house 60 households in August 2024.
Permanent Housing
• Hedges House of Hope kitchen opening.
• It is now providing lunch and dinner for residents at local interim housing facilities – about 330 meals per day.
• Provides culinary jobs skills training to residents.
Additional Services
Recent
Successes
11 2025 Point in Time
Count
12 692
591 622
516
675
611
710
962
595
685
787
958
0 200
400
600
800
1000
1200
2022 2023 2024 2025
Point in Time Count Trends
Unsheltered
Vehicular
Sheltered
• The number of people living
sheltered increased by 61%
since 2022.
• The number of people living
unsheltered decreased by
25% from 2022.
• People living in their vehicles
increased 42% since 2022.
• Overall, the people counted
on the night of the PIT has
increased 24% over the past 4
counts.
• PIT Count results should be
kept in context of larger, more
comprehensive data base.
1,926 2,4362,1191,887
13 Carpinteria
3% Goleta
9%
Santa
Barbara
45%
Lompoc
11%
Santa Maria
20%
Unincorporated
12%
• The cities of Carpinteria, Santa
Barbara, and Goleta comprise
30% of the total county
population and 54% of the
unhoused population.
• The City of Goleta has 7% of the
total county population and 9%
of the unhoused population.
• These charts include sheltered,
unsheltered, and vehicular
homelessness. Vehicular
homelessness makes up a larger
proportion of the count in South
County than in North County.
PIT Count Geographic Distribution
Montecito, Summerland,
Toro Canyon
4%
East Goleta
Valley
28%
Gaviota Coast
1%
Orcutt
2%
Other
Unincorporated*
40%
Isla Vista
25%
By Unincorporated
Area
By City
*This count includes Bridgehouse and Rainbow Village, which are outside Lompoc city limits. 14 Goleta Observations
PIT
• There was, once again, a decrease in the number of people counted near the C
amino Real Marketplace.
• There was a decrease in the number of unsheltered people in the residential a
rea north of the 101 near Fairview, but an increase in people living in their vehicles in the same area.
• There was a decrease in unsheltered in Old Town Goleta, but an increase in v
ehicles in the surrounding neighborhoods.
2024
2025 Sleeping
Location 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025
Change
from
‘24-’25
Sheltered* 0 5 7 0** 10** +100%
Unsheltered 53 44 29 66 47 -28%
Vehicle 113 42 100 82 160 +95%
Total 166 91 136 148 217 +46%
*2022 and 2023 reflect those sheltered in Goleta hotels as part of COVID response programs.
**Turner Foundation Thrive House for youth
Legend
Red Dot - Individual Interview
Blue Dot - Individual Observation
Yellow Dot - Single Vehicle
15 Point in Time
Count by City
• The number of people living
in
their vehicles is nearly
twice the number of people
living outside.
• However, based on
a
vailable data, people living
in vehicles are not accessing
the homeless service
system at the same rate as
people living outside.
183
47 49
160
381
160 171
56 481
10 41
243
0 200
400
600
800
1000
Santa Barbara Goleta Lompoc Santa Maria
People Living Outside
People Living in Vehicles
People Living in Shelters
16 System Wide Data Trends
17 The Housing Inventory Count
• Is conducted concurrently with the Point in
Time count.
• Counts the number of beds dedicated to
unhouse people.
• 106 Permanent beds were added between
2024 and 2025 (467 Permanent beds added
since 2022).
• 212 Interim Housing beds were added
between 2024 and 2025 (448 added since
2022).
1278
1649 1627 1639
1745
280 355 285
453 461
674 766 855 910
1122
0 500
1000
1500
2000
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Permanent Housing Rapid Rehousing Interim Housing
18 System-wide Data Trends
• Decrease in Veteran Homelessness (HMIS):
• 2024 – 90 p eople
• 2025 – 51 p eople
• Increase in Families (PIT):
• 2024 – 1 25 households
• 2025 – 146 H ouseholds
• Many of the families counted were living in vehicles. • Increase in Transitional Aged Youth (18-24) (PIT):
• 2024 – 78 p eople
• 2024 – 127 p eople
• Increase in Seniors (55+) (PIT):
• 2024 – 720 ( 34% of those counted)
• 2025 – 911 ( 37% of those counted)
- 26% of people living in the County are over the age
of 55.
• Increase in length of time a person is in the system (PIT):
• 2024 – 97 d ays
• 2025 – 133 d ays
- Unhoused includes Interim Housing stays.
19 Thank you to all our
partners!
Santa Maria/Santa Barbara
County Continuum of Care
And so many more!
20 Thank You
21