Although local programs recently helped more than 1,300 people transition from living on the streets into housing, Santa Barbara County is seeing an increase in the number of people living in their vehicles.
The Board of Supervisors heard a report on the status of homelessness during its Tuesday meeting in Santa Maria, including the latest Point in Time count survey.
According to Joe Dzvonik, the assistant director of Housing and Community Development, the 1,368 transitions are an example of the effectiveness of the department’s work.
“This one metric is really the primary thermometer for whether or not our homeless strategy is working. Getting this many people out of homelessness and into permanent housing within one year represents a strategy where outreach is not only expansive but of high quality,” Dzvonik said.
He explained that the process of helping people into housing is difficult since it means building trust and a relationship with outreach workers and caseworkers. Those workers also have to help their clients navigate the system to secure housing.
In addition to the positive trend, Dzvonik shared what he called “neutral” trends that he said could be good or bad.
The number of people who have accessed homeless services increased this year to 4,457. That metric grew only by 3% compared with last year, when that number rose by 10% compared with the previous year.
“To have a drop to something less than 3% in overall homelessness is a positive trend. However, we fully acknowledge that the total number still increased overall,” he said.
Dzvonik added that the county also saw fewer first-time users of homeless services. The county estimated that it provided services to a little more than 50% of the homeless population in 2024, but that number dropped to 38% of the people experiencing homelessness in 2025.
The first of the two negative trends he acknowledged was the rise of people living in vehicles. The county recorded 962 people in vehicles in 2025 compared with 710 people in 2024.
Dzvonik said the rise in people living in vehicles shows that the county needs to do more to address that issue.
Another negative trend he outlined is the potential loss of funding as COVID-19-era funds run out.
County staff also updated supervisors on the encampment response, which is entering its third year.
Katherine Soto-Vasquez, encampment response coordination manager, said the county has removed a total of 1,100 encampments, 408 of which were located on county land.
Soto-Vasquez added that 464 individuals were relocated to shelters or permanent housing, with 188 people now in permanent housing. In 2024, the department helped 175 people.
Some successes highlighted in the presentation were Buena Tierra, which opened in Goleta in 2024 and provides 60 beds.
Also mentioned was Hedges House of Hope kitchen, which serves about 330 meals a day for people at shelters and provides culinary job skills to residents.
During questions from the board, Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson praised the work of county staff in serving the homeless community and their work on clearing encampments from the Santa Maria Riverbed.
Nelson added that people across the county may have to accept that not every member of the homeless community can be housed, and some people may have to accept they cannot afford to live in Santa Barbara County.
He added that this is a big state and country, and there are other options.
“At some point, you know, we might be able to do more affordable housing, but we’re not going to be able to house everybody,” Nelson said, “and I think we have to have that honest conversation about that — even if you grew up here, you don’t necessarily have a right to stay here.”