Preliminary results of the 2023 Point in Time Count were released this week showing a 3.7% decrease in the number of homeless people recorded in the county.

The Point in Time Count aims to contact all local residents experiencing homelessness in the county on a single night. This is the fourth annual count and is conducted by the Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care.

The count was conducted in January when roughly 300 volunteers were up before the sun and were sent throughout the county to count the homeless population at 5 a.m.

Countywide, 1,887 people experiencing homelessness were counted in the 2023 Point in Time Count compared to 1,962 people in 2022. 

Of those, 1,202 people were experiencing unsheltered homelessness which includes people living in their vehicles. 

The count reports 685 persons living in emergency shelters or transitional housing compared to 595 people utilizing shelters in 2022. 

Kimberlee Albers, Homeless Assistance Programs Manager for Santa Barbara County, said a positive aspect of the count was that more of the homeless population were utilizing shelters than ever before, despite the homeless population decreasing in the county.

“We’re particularly glad to see the shelter number — if we’re going to have people experiencing homelessness — to see that shelter number ticking back up,” Albers said.

More than 77% of people surveyed during the count are from Santa Barbara County rather than transplanted from other places in California.

Almost 60% of the homeless population in the county (1,107 people) live in the south county and 41% are from the mid and north county (780 people). 

Though overall there was a decrease in the population of people experiencing homelessness, the number of people increased specifically in Goleta, Carpinteria, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley and Guadalupe. 

Goleta counted 136 people this year compared to 91 last year.

Carpinteria had 23 people in their count this year and 21 people in 2022. The Santa Ynez Valley including Buellton and Solvang reported 20 people this year compared to 12 last year. Santa Maria counted 472 people this year compared to 457 last year. Eight homeless people were counted this year in Guadalupe compared to two people last year. 

Albers said it is important to remember that the count is a limited view based on a single night’s count and the continuum uses multiple data sources to track the statistics for the homeless population.

“We know that there’s lots of different data sources that can help us understand who’s experiencing homelessness in Santa Barbara County,” Albers said. “So this is just one piece of that puzzle.”

The full Point in Time Count results will be available in May 2023 and presented to the   Continuum of Care Board on May 4, 2023 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. 

The full report includes more specific information on the demographics of who is experiencing homelessness, or what Albers likes to call “subpopulations.”

The demographics can include race and ethnicity, veterans, families, how many children were counted, if those counted are dealing with a severe mental illness, if they have a substance abuse disorder, or if they were fleeing domestic violence.

“Sometimes we don’t think of all those populations, right?” Albers said.

“So it’s really important to remember that we have families experiencing homelessness in our community and domestic violence survivors and people living in vehicles, so we try with the report to really show different populations.”

The annual Point in Time Count and report is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.