World Homeless Day is observed internationally every year on Oct. 10 to raise awareness about the needs of people who currently experience homelessness and promote work in local communities to address this crisis.

According to Santa Barbara County’s 2024 Point-in-Time Count, 2,119 people are experiencing homelessness across the county.

Although the Point in Time Count has limitations in providing an accurate census, the recent figure represents a 12% increase over the 2023 count of 1,887, according to reports.

This year, a coalition of providers has created a campaign designed to educate South Santa Barbara community members about local homelessness issues, humanize unhoused neighbors, and motivate individuals and groups to take action to address homelessness.

The coalition includes SBACT, Santa Barbara Foundation, PATH Santa Barbara, City Net, Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, and the city of Goleta.

This coalition and people with lived experience of homelessness will host a webinar titled “Homelessness: It’s Not What You Think,” 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10.

The virtual event will educate community members on actionable ways to address homelessness and will equip community members with facts and information to debunk myths about homelessness.

Registration for the webinar can be found here.

The webinar will include a call to action to support our unhoused neighbors, as many people are unaware of the ways they can work to alleviate the local challenges around homelessness.

Webinar attendees will learn ways to discuss homelessness, how housing and homelessness will show up on the ballot this November, and we’ll provide a list of organizations to donate to and volunteer with.

Additionally, this collaborative is producing a video series, “Everyone Has a Story: The Real Faces of Homelessness,” featuring the stories of local individuals experiencing homelessness.

The videos, generally produced by City Councilmember Oscar Guiterez, are available at www.sbact.org/whd.

“Homelessness is the crisis of our time and everyone can be a part of the solutions,” said Guiterez. “We must come together to support people experiencing homelessness, share their stories, and provide more housing and services to those in need.

“I appreciate that this coalition of community minded providers has come together to share the real stories of our unhoused neighbors.”

California is largely considered the epicenter of homelessness in the United States, with greater than a quarter of the country’s unhoused population living in the Golden State.

Currently, some 181,000 people in California are reported to be experiencing homelessness.