Contra Costa County’s annual survey to document people experiencing homelessness showed a four percent increase overall in 2023 compared to 2020, according to a report released by Contra Costa Health’s Health, Housing and Homeless Services team (H3).
H3 and its community partners, including more than 200 volunteers, canvassed across the county to count the number of people living in emergency shelters or outdoors on Jan. 25, 2023 and released preliminary findings of the 2023 Point in Time count (PIT) this week.
The PIT provides a one-day snapshot of homelessness in Contra Costa. It impacts funding, includes important data and demographics, and helps inform how Contra Costa Health (CCH) can most effectively provide services to people experiencing homelessness.
The preliminary findings show that 2,372 people were without housing during that 24-hour period, including 1,653 people who were unsheltered. That is a 4% increase from the 2020 PIT, which counted 2,277 people experiencing homelessness.
Graphic from Contra Costa County
“There’s no one reason why people lose their housing,” said John Gioia, Chair of the County Board of Supervisors. “We are working hard on many fronts to create more housing opportunities with supportive services, including investing $12 million per year in a newly established Housing Trust Fund. Contra Costa County is also working with other counties statewide to reform the homeless system of care in California to link funding with accountability for outcomes.”
Since 2020, bed capacity in the county increased by over 560 beds and CCH opened Delta Landing thanks to the state’s Homekey program, which added critically needed services in East County.
“This year’s PIT count shows that homelessness rates in the county are relatively stable and similar to pre-pandemic numbers,” said H3 director Christy Saxton. “This is a testament to the services we work to provide to people who are experiencing homelessness in our communities, but there is more work to be done.”
The full PIT report, expected to be completed in June, will include additional geographic and demographic data. Visit cchealth.org/h3 for more information on homeless services and resources.
PowerPoint Presentation: Click Here
Editors Note
Here is the annual point in time homeless count data since 2015. While the county it saying its seen a 4% increase(95 people) since 2020, its also seen a 721 person decrease in homelessness since 2022.
- 2015 -3,715 (report)
- 2016 -3,500 (report)
- 2017 – 1,607 (report)
- 2019 – 2,295 (report)
- 2020 – 2,277 (report)
- 2021 – no survey due to COVID
- 2022 – 3,093
- 2023 – 2,372 people
- Data Shows Contra Costa County Sees Increase in Homelessness
In August, the Contra Costa Health Services released its 2022 Homeless Point in Time Count and Survey which showed more than 3,000 people in the county are homeless. Recently, the demographic and geographic information gathered through the 2022 survey has now been released.
For all data and report: click here
1 comment
Common core math at its finest.
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