Homeless in San Mateo County, a limited future

The Daily Journal (San Mateo County, Samantha Weigel), 5/22/17. "Homeless rate drops while some turn to their vehicles for shelter."

.... ... "On that January night, 637 people were unsheltered. About 20 percent or 127 people slept on the streets, another 95 people were in tents or encampments, 218 people were living in RVs, and 197 individuals stayed in cars. Another 616 homeless individuals stayed in emergency shelters or transitional housing, according to the report. The 1,253 homeless people accounted for 902 households, and the number of unsheltered families decreased 48 percent from 35 in 2015 to 19 this year, according to the report.

Can't we do better than this?
San Mateo County says YES!

Help is on the way...
in the near future we hope.

Based on geography, Pacifica had the most unsheltered homeless in the county with 112 people counted, marking a 78 percent increase from 2015. East Palo Alto followed with 98 homeless individuals for a 3 percent increase. Redwood City came in third with 94 unsheltered people, but which was a 58 percent decrease from 2015 when 223 people were counted, according to the report.
Some of the largest rises include San Bruno, where 26 homeless individuals accounted for a 225 percent increase from 2015, although data has varied widely over the years. Burlingame had a 200 percent increase with 21 people counted, the highest since the 2009 survey. The city of San Mateo had 48 people living without shelter, a 41 percent reduction, according to the survey.
Staff will continue to compile the information before releasing a more comprehensive report in June. Ultimately, the information will steer future programming decisions.
 
Resolving homelessness. Following the 2015 survey, the Human Services Agency agency reworked its Strategic Plan to End Homelessness by 2020. Published last year, a cornerstone of the update included the Coordinated Entry System — a multi-disciplinary effort to guide those facing homelessness toward stability, said Human Services Agency spokeswoman Effie Verducci.“Our vision is that homelessness in San Mateo County by 2020 will be a rare, brief and non-reoccurring state,” Verducci said. “We really want it to be a meaningful path through the system and that they come out of it on the other side equipped with tools to not return into the system.”   Read article.

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Related, San Mateo County homeless trend.   Pacfica Tribune/Bay Area News Group/Jane Northrop, 1/27/15, update 8/12/16, "Volunteers seek homeless in Pacifica." "The final report is typically published in May. In 2013, there were 2,281 homeless people living in San Mateo County, up slightly from 2,149 in 2011 and increased significantly since 2009, when the county found 1,796 without shelter. In 2013, the greatest increase seen was among people living in cars (83 percent) and recreational vehicles (59 percent).  There was also good news in 2013. The number of people observed living on the street dropped 24 percent from 2011 to 2013, thanks largely to outreach teams connecting street homeless to services, and an increase in funding to re-house more of those in shelters."   The Daily Journal, San Mateo County/Brendan Bartholomew,6/24/13,"Homeless numbers way up in Pacifica." "The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities to count their homeless populations every two years. Most homeless counts around the country increased from 2007 to 2009, and peaked in 2011, Katz said. For the 2013 count, she said homeless numbers fell in most places, but not in Pacifica."    Related, organization always doing their part to help low-income, and homeless people in this City, Pacifica Resource Center.     Note photographs.  Homeless camp by Ann Cooney from the related Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop 8/12/16 article above, slide 2 of 4.  Help from Pacifica Patch/Renee Schiavone, 3/24/15, "'Sharp Decline' Reported in unsheltered homeless in San Mateo County."

 

Posted by Kathy Meeh