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Huntington Beach reports 40% year‑over‑year rise in permanent housing placements from navigation center
Summary
City staff reported the Huntington Beach Navigation Center housed 406 people in 2024, maintained a 91% occupancy rate and helped 78 people move to permanent housing — a 40% increase over 2023; the city also expanded social‑worker staffing and volunteer services.
Huntington Beach, Calif. — City staff told the City Council on May 6 that the Huntington Beach Navigation Center and the city’s homeless‑services system placed 78 people into permanent housing in 2024, a roughly 40% increase from 2023.
Jessica Kelly and Lieutenant Roman Altenbach presented the annual homeless‑services report, describing a multi‑agency approach that includes city outreach social workers, the Huntington Beach Navigation Center (174 beds), the Be Well mobile crisis response team, HB Cares volunteers and a dedicated homeless task force in the police department.
Key figures reported by staff for calendar year 2024:
- 406 unique individuals served at the navigation center; 91% average occupancy. - 78 people moved to permanent housing (about 40% more than 2023). - 33 people moved from street‑level homelessness directly into permanent housing with social‑worker assistance. - 9,603 meals provided at the navigation center in 2024. - 5,711 recorded contacts (case management, calls and interagency coordination).
Staff said the city converted an HB Cares coordinator role into a full‑time social worker in 2024, enabling housing retention check‑ins and better coordination with service providers. The report also said volunteers donated 750 hours in 2024 and helped provide services such as resume workshops, coping‑skills groups and recreational activities.
Lieutenant Altenbach noted that the homeless task force made 67 referrals to shelter and that Be Well carried out crisis transports to detox and stabilization centers, freeing police officers for other duties.
Why it matters: Huntington Beach officials said the statistics show progress in moving people from unsheltered situations into shelter and housing and pointed to the navigation center as the hub of city efforts. Council members noted that improved outreach and interagency coordination helped the results and that the city has served as a model for other jurisdictions.
What’s next: Staff will continue outreach, housing retention efforts and quarterly reporting. The city’s social‑worker team and navigation‑center partners will continue case‑conferencing and efforts to reduce recidivism, staff said.
