The County of San Luis Obispo released the official community report detailing results from the 2024 Point-in-Time Count conducted in January 2024 where 1,175 individuals experiencing homelessness were identified in San Luis Obispo County.
Overall, the county saw a drop in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and a rise in sheltered homelessness since 2022. In the City of San Luis Obispo, the number of homeless individuals counted decreased compared to 2013 numbers and increased compared to 2022 numbers. While unsheltered homelessness increased since 2022, sheltered homelessness is at a nine-year high in San Luis Obispo.
The County of San Luis Obispo released the official community report detailing results from the 2024 Point-in-Time Count conducted in January 2024 where 1,175 individuals experiencing homelessness were identified in San Luis Obispo County.
“These numbers are not surprising to anyone in San Luis Obispo,” said Timothea Tway, the City’s Community Development Director. “We are encouraged to see that more individuals are sheltered, but the rise in SLO’s homelessness numbers confirms what we’ve been hearing from our community and what our teams have been seeing in the field. What’s clear is that our community needs to provide more housing options for those experiencing homelessness.”
County officials say that this year’s data is more reliable than it has been in previous years due to several factors, including:
- Methodology improvement: The County improved the way people were counted and surveyed (64% of individuals experiencing homelessness were surveyed this year, which is more than double from previous years)
- Shorter surveys: The survey was shorter this year which resulted in more engagement
- 250 volunteers: A record number of volunteers helped with this year’s count all across San Luis Obispo, resulting in a more robust Point-in-Time Count.
- De-duplication: The County used a three-step verification process to confirm locations and removed duplicate surveys from the final tally.
Anyone interested in more information about homelessness in San Luis Obispo is invited to attend the City’s first Homelessness Response Forum at the Ludwick Community Center on June 5, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Community members interested in attending can register for the event online at www.slocity.org/Homelessness.
The forum is an initiative of the City’s first Homelessness Response Strategic Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in March 2023 in alignment with the Countywide Plan to Address Homelessness. At a high-level, here’s what the City is currently doing to reduce and prevent homelessness:
- Expand housing: We’re focused on expanding interim, permanent supportive, affordable and workforce housing in the City of SLO, in partnership with the County and local housing service providers.
- Improve coordination: We are working directly with local homeless service providers and the County to coordinate our outreach, communications and pilot program efforts to prevent and address homelessness.
- Connect individuals: We have outreach staff with our Community Action Team, Mobile Crisis Unit, and Community Service Officers who connect unhoused community members with mental health, drug and alcohol and housing options.
To read the County’s point in time report, visit slocounty.gov/PIT-Count.
For more information about the City’s efforts to reduce and prevent homelessness, please visit slocity.org/Homelessness.