Why is This Important?

Homeless individuals lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Homelessness detracts from an individual’s ability to hold down steady employment and can negatively impact their health and safety. Homelessness among children can impact a child’s ability to succeed in school and maintain relationships with peers.

What is a Sustainable State?

In a sustainable state all residents of a community have access to a safe and permanent residence and temporarily homeless individuals have access to high-quality shelters and support services.

How Are We Doing?

Homeless Census
The San Mateo County Human Services Agency completed a new Homeless Census and Survey in early 2011. While the complete results of the census were not available by press time, initial indications were that the economic downturn of the last two years has increased the number of unsheltered homeless since the last survey in 2009. The county also reported to SSMC that there was a significant increase in the number of persons living in homeless encampments, vehicles, and RVs. There were 975 sheltered homeless in the county at the time of the survey (in emergency shelters, transitional housing, motel voucher programs, residential treatment, jails, and hospitals), a number which has remained fairly constant over the last few
years.

Among the more detailed findings of the completed 2009 Homeless Census and Survey:

· Forty-nine percent of homeless were “chronically” homeless, meaning that they had been homeless for longer than 12 months or for 4 times in the past year.

· Thirty-eight percent reported drug or alcohol abuse problems and 33 percent has mental illness.

· About 9 percent of homeless surveyed had dependent children.

· Fourteen percent of the homeless counted were veterans, a reduction from 27 percent in 2007. County officials indicate this is due to an increase in programs for homeless veterans.

The Human Service Agency also reports to SSMC that:
· In 2009-2010, San Mateo County received ARRA (stimulus) funds for Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing programs. Through a collaboration of homeless and safety net service providers, 632 San Mateo County residents were either saved from homelessness or rapidly re-housed after they gave up their housing.

· The Housing Readiness Program, a three-year rental assisted housing program, has increased its number of vouchers from 60 to 80, offering homeless service providers another avenue to refer eligible clients to permanent housing.

· Waiting lists for entry to family shelters have jumped from an average of 30 families to more than 120 and shelters for individual adults have functioned at full capacity for the past year.

· San Mateo County Core Services Agencies have reported increased demands on all services across the board. Food banks more than doubled the volume of food distributed in the past two years (from 154,000 meals in FY 2007/08 to 314,000 meals in FY 2009/10), and financial assistance for utility and rental payments increased 189 percent.

· San Mateo County received a number of Veterans Administration Supportive Housing vouchers in 2009/10, which place veterans in permanent supportive housing.