Ventura County officials on Oct. 21 told the Board of Supervisors that the county’s multi-agency homelessness plan has produced measurable reductions in homelessness and moved a substantial pipeline of housing toward construction while expanding outreach and behavioral-health supports.

County Executive Officer Kimberly Albers and Tracy McCauley, the county’s housing solutions director, told supervisors the county’s coordinated response produced an 18.5% decline in the point-in-time homeless count between the 2024 and 2025 counts and added 594 new permanent housing units since the plan’s launch. McCauley said 307 of those are permanent supportive housing units for people experiencing homelessness and that the county now has more than 850 units in the development pipeline.

Why it matters: County leaders said the reductions and the housing pipeline reflect a regional approach that pairs housing production with outreach, mental-health services and coordinated enforcement to clear encampments while offering services. Officials cautioned that state and federal funding is tightening and that new state directives could change program rules. They said next steps include a Jan. 28, 2026 point-in-time count and an upcoming funding round where the county expects to offer about $17 million for housing and services.

The county credited several major funding awards and projects. McCauley highlighted a $93 million Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure (BHCI) grant to create behavioral-health resources near Camarillo and an award of $28 million in HomeKey Plus funding to create 88 permanent supportive housing units on part of the county’s Lewis Road campus. McCauley said a community-development funding cycle will open with a mandatory applicant meeting on Nov. 6 and that available funding could include community development block grants, HOME, ARPA and Permanent Local Housing Allocation dollars.

Behavioral Health Deputy Director Loretta Denning and division chief Sarah Sanchez said the department is building its housing-related capacity. Denning said the county expects about $20 million a year in Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) funds that can be used for housing-related supports, which the county plans to use for capital and operating subsidies. Sanchez said behavioral health programs have added interim housing capacity and intensive outreach: the county has brought 144 interim beds online in the behavioral-health continuum, sheltered about 208 people, had 112 participants across four program locations and permanently housed 50 people from those programs.

Ambulatory Care and homeless liaison unit work: Deanna Handel of ambulatory care described expanded “backpack medicine” — mobile clinical outreach — which increased encounters 161% (from 157 to 411 people since August 2024). Handel said the county’s housing navigation teams have completed 1,563 housing assessments and individualized housing plans in roughly one year, helping 329 patients secure permanent housing; many were previously in encampments.

Captain Hemmerson, who leads the county’s Homeless Liaison Unit, said outreach operations have accelerated. He reported 117 outreach events since the unit’s inception, 1,505 people contacted countywide, and 537 encampments noticed and removed during the period described. Hemmerson said the unit has standardized operating procedures and added thermal-imaging drones and nighttime operations to reduce fire risk in riverbed areas.

Officials emphasized coordination and data: the county executive’s office said the homelessness plan’s five action areas are prioritizing housing and funding, regional coordination and leadership, outreach and service delivery, data-driven decision-making, and representation of lived experience. County data presented to the board showed increases in bed capacity (2,899 year-round beds in February 2024, a 10.2% increase from 2023) and a decrease in unsheltered counts in the January point-in-time tally (down 12.4% from 2023).

Limits and next steps: Supervisors stressed continuity with cities and the need for robust data and regional alignment. Several supervisors urged the county to set a measurable, time‑bound “drive to zero” homelessness target but said the date should be developed with city partners and the Continuum of Care (CoC). Officials also flagged federal and state policy changes: participants noted that federal budget delays and proposed federal program changes (for example, HR 1 was discussed broadly in the meeting) could affect programs and funding, and that state-level shifts may change grant requirements.

The board received the presentation and voted to place the update on file.