Santa Cruz County homeless census shows 6 percent increase in people experiencing homelessness
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Santa Cruz County's recent homeless census brings to light an increase in the county's overall homeless population, but specifically for those military veterans and those suffering mental illness.
According to numbers expected to be presented to the board of supervisors on Tuesday, the county's homeless population increased 6 percent.
Homelessness among veterans increased 120 percent compared to 2019 when the last census was held.
According to Robert Ratner with the Santa Cruz County Housing for Health Partnership, some of that increase is tied to issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"During the pandemic our outreach effort and access to programs was more limited in general for veterans," said Ratner. "For me it's a wake up call for our community to do more outreach to connect veterans to available resources."
Other increases include the number of homeless escaping a domestic violence situation (Which saw a 9 percent jump) plus a 282 percent increase of those who self-reported having substance use disorders.
Ratner said he's also concerned about Santa Cruz County seniors with health concerns as they often ended up on the streets.
"Everyone can lean in a bit during public meetings and express a willingness to put more resources into addressing the needs there [for seniors]," Ratner explained. "Communities that have been able to do that have been able to make some progress."
Ratner said part of having an accepting community should also be extended to those who are homeless and have behavioral health issues.
He said those specific groups with mental health issues or who have disabilities have a stigma associated with them, making it harder for them to get accepted into housing even with a voucher.
"The community needs to welcome those folks into the community and the programs that support them," Ratner said. "If at the local level we keep hearing 'no no no' then the consequence is people just don't have anywhere to go."
Homeless families and youth homeless with housing vouchers, according to Ratner, are more likely to get into housing with a voucher.
The results of the census comes after Santa Cruz County was named the second most expensive place to live. It was second only to San Francisco.
There was some good news from the census to report, however.
Overall homelessness among families dropped significantly from 2019 to 2022.
Additional findings in the homeless census will be presented to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
