San Mateo County Executive Officer Mike Callagy reported that a one-day count found that there are 1,808 homeless people in the county. Saint Matthew, indicating that providing shelter and affordable housing, as well as health and mental health services are key to ending the problem.
“While that number may seem daunting to some, we know we have the capacity and commitment to end homelessness here in San Mateo County,” Callagy said during a virtual meeting of community leaders held last Friday.
During her participation, she explained that the local government is already working to gather the necessary resources and support "to create a clear path from homelessness to permanent homes."
During the second in a series of events titled “2022: Our Year of Working Together to End Homelessness,” she detailed that getting people off the streets is supported by significant new shelter resources that have recently opened and additional ones that will arrive in a matter of months.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Horsley said systems can be put in place to ensure that when individuals and families become homeless, it is infrequent, brief and unique.
"We know we have work to do and we are committed to providing the resources necessary to complete that work," he stressed.
Homeless in San Mateo County: By the Numbers
Based on a “point-in-time” count that tallies the number of people experiencing homelessness at a given time on one day, it was conducted on Feb. 24 by teams of community members who fanned out across San Mateo County to find and count unsheltered people.
In addition, a count was made of those who are in shelters and temporary housing.
On that day, the county was found to have 1,092 homeless people. That represented a 21 percent increase — 191 people — from the one-day count in 2019.
Meanwhile, 716 people were identified as living in collective shelters and hotels that have been converted into temporary housing. This represented a 17 percent increase (105 people) compared to the same count two years ago.
“While numbers are up, we believe the situation could be much worse without the supports we have put in place due to the impacts of the pandemic,” said Ken Cole, director of the County Human Services Agency.
“The last few years have been incredibly hard on many individuals and families. They deserve our compassion and, more than that, our promise that we will do everything in our power to ensure that every homeless person can enter a shelter and work toward finding a permanent home,” she added.
These point-in-time count results are intended to provide data that will help inform policymakers and providers about the homeless population and understand trends.
It is noteworthy that agencies receiving federal funding are required to conduct a point-in-time count every two years; the 2021 count was rescheduled to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county detailed that it has set a goal of creating enough shelter beds and transitional housing units to achieve “zero functional homelessness,” which means ensuring that every homeless county resident who chooses assistance can be safely housed in an emergency shelter or in temporary or permanent housing.
It also means that outreach staff will continue to engage with those who are not currently interested in accessing services, they said.
She added that providing temporary and permanent housing options is a key component of the initiative, along with expanding support services for homeless residents on the streets, in shelters and in transitional housing.
Supportive services address an individual's or family's housing barriers and include connecting people to employment opportunities, social service benefits, and health and mental health services.
To build momentum, Callagy announced 2022 as “Our Year of Working Together to End Homelessness.”
The next event in the series, “Moving to a Permanent Home,” will take place on Friday, June 3 at 10:00 a.m.
To address urgent shelter needs, in April the county began construction of 240 safe living spaces at a shelter now taking shape in Redwood City, east of Highway 101.
The shelter, which will replace the Maple Street shelter, which currently provides emergency and transitional housing and supportive services for up to 110 people each night, will allow people to have private bedrooms and 20 units will accommodate couples.
The new facility will also offer outdoor space and expanded space for support service providers. Construction of the shelter is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
In addition to that construction, the county noted that it has purchased five former motels/hotels to convert into temporary or permanent housing for people who are unsheltered or at serious risk of becoming unsheltered.
You may be interested in: San Mateo County receives $500,000 for construction of homeless shelter
