The number of homeless in San Bernardino County has eclipsed 4,000, according to figures released this week by county officials taken from the so-called point-in-time count completed on January 26.
With in 4,195 of the county’s 2,225,586 inhabitants identified as having no home, 0.018848968316659 percent of the population is fully destitute, that is, one out of every 530.53 people subsisting in the county at present is doing so without a roof over his or her head.
Key findings extrapolated from this year’s count and an analysis of past counts were that:
* The number of adults and children counted as homeless increased by 25.9 percent when the 2023 point-in-time homeless count of 4,195 is compared to the 2022 point-in-time homeless count of 3,333.
* The number of adults and children counted as unsheltered increased by 24.6% when the 2023 unsheltered count of 2,976 is compared to the 2022 unsheltered count of 2,389.
* The number of homeless adults and children counted as sheltered increased by 29.1 percent when the 2023 sheltered count of 1,219 is compared to the 2022 sheltered count of 944.* More than three-fourths (76.9 percent) or 3,226 of the 4,195 homeless adults and children were counted within seven cities that include Barstow, Colton, Fontana, Ontario, Redlands, San Bernardino, and Victorville. Those seven cities accounted for 2,163 or nearly three-fourths (72.7 percent) of the total unsheltered population of 2,976 and 1,063 or 87.2 percent of the 1,219 persons counted in shelters and transitional housing.
* More than one-third (39.9 percent) of unsheltered adults and children counted as homeless became homeless for the first time during the 12 months prior to the homeless count.
* Nearly one-third (32.1 percent ) of unsheltered adults stated “City of San Bernardino” when asked in what city they had first become homeless.
* Nearly half (44.1 percent) of unsheltered adults were chronically homeless, which is defined as being homeless for one year or more and having a disabling condition such as mental illness, a chronic health condition, and/or a physical disability.
* Nearly one-fourth (22.9 percent) of unsheltered adults answered “yes” when asked if they had been incarcerated during the past 12 months
* Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of unsheltered adults answered “no income” when asked to state their monthly income.
* Another 14 percent answered “less than $500” when asked to state their monthly income.
The seven cities in the county experiencing the most intensive degree of homeless, in order, were San Bernardino, with 1,502 destitute; Victorville, with 607 dispossessed; Redlands, with 324 having nowhere to go; Fontana, and its 240 without homes; Colton, dealing with 212 unable to find refuge; Ontario, which had 187 without roofs over their heads; and Barstow, where 88 had nothing between themselves and the elements.
Among the county’s other cities and communities, Adelanto had 35 homeless; Apple Valley had an identical number, 35; unincorporated Big Bear City and Sugarloaf had two; incorporated Big Bear Lake had 36; Bloomington and Crestmore had 25; Blue Jay counted three; Cajon Canyon had four; Cedarpines Park had a single homeless person; Chino had 28; Chino Hills had four; Crestline had an even dozen; Devore had five; Grand Terrace had six; Hesperia had 64; Highland had 86; Joshua Tree had 42; Lake Arrowhead had four; Landers had two; Lenwood had none; Loma Linda had 17; Lytle Creek had none; Mentone and Crafton had eight; Montclair had 71 within its 6.5-square mile confines; Morongo Valley had none; Muscoy had 13; Needles had six; Phelan and Pinion Hills had four; Rancho Cucamonga and Rialto each had 70; Running Springs had three; Skyforest had one; Twentynine Palms had 75; Twin Peaks had five; Upland had 80; Valley of Enchantment had six; West Cajon Valley and Yermo had none; Yucaipa had 30; Yucca Valley had 110; elsewhere countywide there were six.
Adelanto was able to shelter or place in transitional housing 13 of its homeless; Apple Valley temporarily housed or sheltered three; Barstow temporarily housed or sheltered 66; unincorporated Bear City and Sugarloaf temporarily housed or sheltered none; incorporated Big Bear Lake temporarily housed or sheltered 18; Bloomington and Crestmore temporarily housed or sheltered none; Blue Jay temporarily housed or sheltered none; Cajon Canyon temporarily housed or sheltered none; Cedarpines Park temporarily housed or sheltered none; Chino temporarily housed or sheltered none; Chino Hills temporarily housed or sheltered none; Crestline temporarily housed or sheltered two; Devore temporarily housed or sheltered none; Fontana temporarily housed or sheltered none; Grand Terrace temporarily housed or sheltered none; Hesperia temporarily housed or sheltered five; Highland temporarily housed or sheltered 25; Joshua Tree temporarily housed or sheltered none; Lake Arrowhead temporarily housed or sheltered two; Landers temporarily housed or sheltered none; Loma Linda temporarily housed or sheltered none of its homeless; Lytle Creek temporarily housed or sheltered none; Mentone and Crafton temporarily housed or sheltered two; Montclair temporarily housed or sheltered none; Muscoy temporarily housed or sheltered none; Needles temporarily housed or sheltered none; Phelan and Pinion Hills temporarily housed or sheltered none; Rancho Cucamonga temporarily housed or sheltered none; Redlands temporarily housed or sheltered 70; Rialto temporarily housed or sheltered none; Running Springs temporarily housed or sheltered none; Skyforest temporarily housed or sheltered none; Twentynine Palms temporarily housed or sheltered none; Twin Peaks temporarily housed or sheltered none; Upland temporarily housed or sheltered 48; Valley of Enchantment temporarily housed or sheltered none; Yucaipa temporarily housed or sheltered eight; Yucca Valley temporarily housed or sheltered 30; places elsewhere countywide temporarily housed or sheltered none.
In incorporated Big Bear Lake, Chino Hills, Crestline, Landers, Lytle Creek, Morongo Valley, Muscoy, Needles, Ontario, Rialto, Running Springs, Twentynine Palms and Yermo there was either no increase or a reduction in the number of homeless over last year. In all other areas of the county there was an increase.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as part of its requirements for local continuums of care to continue to receive continuum of care funding for homeless persons, requires continuums of care to conduct “one-day point-in-time” sheltered and unsheltered homeless counts during the last 10 days of January. The CA-609 San Bernardino City and County continuum of care is one of nearly 400 jurisdictions nationwide that submit an annual application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for continuum of care funding. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires continuums of care to conduct a sheltered count every year and an unsheltered count every other year. The San Bernardino County and the City of San Bernardino continuum of care conducts an annual unsheltered count as do more than half of California’s 44 continuums of care.
In its report on the point in time count, San Bernardino County noted that it had attempted to engage in “closer monitoring of undercounted areas” than it had in the past to obtain more accurate counts of the homeless. According to the report, surveyors and the county had used “Esri’s ArcGIS software platform,” which, the county said, entailed a “Homeless count dashboard, which was used to monitor results of the point-in-time count in real time,” thus improving the carrying out of the inventorying of the homeless.
That, perhaps, partially accounted for the larger numbers found in this year’s count.
In 2022, the point-in-time count found 3,333 total homeless in the county, including 944 who were sheltered and 2,389 who were unsheltered. In the 2023 point-in-time count, 4,195 homeless were tallied, of whom 1,219 were sheltered and 2,976 were unsheltered. Thus, there was an uptick of 862 homeless counted in the county this year over last year, an increase of 25.9 percent. That meant there was an increase of 275 in the number or 29.1 percent of unsheltered homeless over last year. One showing of encouragement was that the number of sheltered homeless also increased, by 587 or 24.6 percent.
As the Sentinel noted in its coverage of the point-in-time count last year, “The counting of those sheltered presented less of a challenge than ferreting out those who have no traditional place to stay and are living under bridges, behind bushes to the side of freeway ramps, in alleyways and riverbeds, in canyons and arroyos, in parks and campgrounds as a means of avoiding or hiding from brutal authorities to avoid being manhandled by oftentimes sadistic police officers and sheriff’s deputies, deloused with toxic chemicals against their will and charged with vagrancy.”
In this way the accuracy of the count is in question. Indeed, the Sentinel is aware of a number of places throughout the county where the number of homeless have been undercounted or uncounted, including specific areas in places such as Ontario where the homeless have been able to avoid being detected by authorities by routinely retreating to places of hiding, some of them literally underground.
–Mark Gutglueck