Riverside County last week reported a 19% decrease in the unsheltered population during this year’s Point-in-Time Count held Jan. 22, though the overall number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 7%.
“Our county has really been focused on tackling this issue head on, and we’ve done that in a myriad of ways,” Tanya Torno, deputy director of the Riverside County Department of Housing and Workforce Solutions (HWS), said. “This has included increasing our reach to people who are living on the streets in their cars or in different encampments, and we’re now sending out health and behavioral health specialists out into the field with our street outreach teams, and I think that has really proven to be fruitful.”
According to Torno, there were 1,978 unsheltered individuals identified during this year’s count compared to the 2,441 identified in 2023, the last year a full count was conducted after the county decided to align its counts with the federal government.
“We have now moved and have aligned ourselves with the federal schedule to make sure that we’re using every day, every minute, every month, every chance we get to really focus on connecting people to housing,” she said. “We have the data. We know what the need is, and so to that end, we are saving our energy and our resources, to help connect people to housing and care.”
The county, Torno said, has also really focused on increasing the amount of affordable housing and emergency and transitional housing beds — increasing shelter bed capacity by 57% since 2023 — so people can start taking the steps toward being housed, which she said has helped to really slow the growth of people experiencing homelessness — which includes both sheltered and unsheltered individuals.
“We did see a 7% increase in comparison to 2023,” she said. “But when we look at our Point-in-Time Count results in 2022, 2023 and 2025, what we’re seeing is that we are continuing to flatten the curve, so what that means is that the rate of growth has declined for now the second consecutive year, which is a good sign.”
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In 2022, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Riverside County increased by 15%. That increase dropped to 12% in 2023. And this year, with 3,990 individuals experiencing homelessness, the increase was roughly 7% — or 265 individuals. The county also reported a “significant reduction” in veterans, seniors, families with children and youth experiencing homelessness.
“This is now the third year where we’re seeing those results go down, and just like we worked really hard to do when we were trying to fight Covid, our hope is to essentially flatten that curve, and work toward a day where this, this crisis is closer to being eliminated,” Torno said.
The count is done through community volunteers and agency partners, 879 in total this year, and is conducted in all 28 cities and unincorporated communities. The county, through its More Than A Count initiative, was also able to fast-track vulnerable populations into care the day of the count.
“It is tremendous progress that we have huge reductions, less people living on the streets and more having access to shelters,” Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in the county’s release. “By targeting the root causes of homelessness and expanding access to housing and care, we are helping more residents find stability and hope.”
And while the Point-in-Time Count is a great way to understand trends over time, Torno said it’s just an estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness and doesn’t fully capture the true need throughout the county.
“We have been tracking every person that comes to us for assistance, is being engaged by a street outreach team and is going through our continuum of care,” she said. “In a one year period, we have assisted 18,339 individuals, so that number represents the real need in our region, which is again four or five times what our Point-in-Time Count shows.”
Those currently experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless can call the Riverside County HomeConnect Hotline at 1-800-498-8847 to be connected with a navigator who can help find resources available in their region.
More information about Riverside County’s housing and homelessness programs can be found here on the HWS website.
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