This year’s survey of the homeless population in Orange County saw a 13.7% reduction compared with the count two years ago, officials said Monday.
The so-called Point In Time count in January also saw a 26.6% drop in unsheltered homeless.
This year’s survey was a milestone in that it showed for the first time there were more people in shelters or transitional housing programs than there were on the streets, said Doug Becht, director of Office of Care Coordination.
Becht told reporters Monday that the finding was “incredibly meaningful” and that it demonstrated that most transients want services to get shelter and housing.
The bi-annual count showed 6,321 people who were homeless, and of those, 3,256 were in emergency shelters or a transitional housing program and 3,065 went unsheltered.
Compared with 2024 there was a 3% increase in the sheltered population, officials said. That increase was expected with the expansion of services, Becht said. A shortage of affordable housing leads some in transitional housing programs or shelters to stay in them longer, he said. But seeing more people in shelters and housing programs is “encouraging progress” that shows the county’s homeless services programs are working, he added.
“Over the last 10 years we have built an effective and comprehensive system of care to address homelessness,” Becht said.
Still, he cited a “cascade effect” to the shortage since those who are ready to make the leap from transient to housing are taking up a spot for someone who is ready to enter a program, Becht said.
The Point In Time count was conducted from Jan. 26-29 throughout the county with 30 to 40 staffers part of each shift, Becht said.
The county has seen an 8% reduction in homelessness since 2019, Becht said. He said county officials are “incredibly proud” that homelessness has gone down despite the years of struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the northern part of the county there were 2,894 reported homeless people; the central part had 2,919 people lacking shelter or housing, and in the southern part the number was at 508 for the January survey.
Among other findings:
— Of those counted this year, 206 were veterans, 245 were 18 to 24 years old, and 882 were seniors 62 and older;
— Of the 3,065 unsheltered, 140 were veterans, 93 were 18 to 24, and 361 were seniors;
— Of the 3,256 sheltered population, 66 were veterans, 152 were 18 to 24 years old and 521 were seniors;
— Of the 3,065 unsheltered, 28.91% were female;
— Of the 3,256 sheltered, 45.55% were female;
— Of those characterized as chronically homeless, 41.11% were unsheltered and 53.78% were in some sort of shelter;
— The survey also showed that 45.04% of the unsheltered population have a substance abuse disorder, and the number was at 26.04% in shelter programs;
— Of the unsheltered population, 34.82% have a physical disability, and the statistic was at 28.62% for those in shelter programs;
— Of the unsheltered population, 32.89% struggle with serious mental illness, and 37,85% of the sheltered population have that issue;
— The survey showed that 63.56% were unemployed and 13.31% have some employment either part-time or full-time. There were 13.46% who were retired or disabled;
— The survey showed about 52% blamed finances for their homelessness, and 20.18% said they were homeless due to relationship problems with family or a partner;
— Nearly 11% blamed their circumstances on health and safety factors such as a medical crisis, physical or mental health or substance use.