County presents 2025 Point‑in‑Time count: more people in vehicles, interim shelter beds up, housing exits steady

Santa Barbara County officials told the Goleta City Council on July 15 that the county’s annual point‑in‑time (PIT) count and homelessness management data show mixed trends: permanent housing exits remain strong while visible vehicular homelessness has grown.

Joe Dzvonick, assistant director of the county’s Housing and Community Development Division, and Jett Blackmertz, the county’s chief homeless assistance program manager, presented the results and policy implications. County staff said nearly 1,400 people transitioned from homelessness into permanent housing during calendar year 2024 — a repeat of the prior year’s high results — while the county’s homeless management information system (HMIS) recorded 4,457 people seeking services in 2024, a rise of 124 individuals (about 3%).

The PIT count snapshot conducted in January showed 2,436 people were visible and counted on one night, a 15% increase from the prior PIT. County officials cautioned that the PIT is a single‑night snapshot and that HMIS offers a more comprehensive, year‑round picture. They emphasized that many more people contact services through the year than are visible on a single night.

A striking shift in the data was the rise in vehicular homelessness. County staff said people living in cars, trucks or RVs increased by roughly 35% year over year and nearly doubled in some areas; at the same time, unsheltered people in sidewalks and encampments declined as interim shelter beds and outreach efforts increased. “We saw the largest growth in vehicular homelessness,” Blackmertz said, adding the county’s Serve‑Free grant program and targeted outreach have begun to respond to that need.

County leaders noted new interim shelter facilities and rapid outreach have produced measurable movement into shelter: La Posada and Hope Village helped move hundreds of people indoors and the county’s interim housing expansion accounted for a large share of the shelter gains cited by presenters. But officials warned there remains a bottleneck to permanent housing: time spent in the homelessness response system before permanent moves has increased and the county needs more permanent units that match residents’ needs.

Geographically, the PIT count showed 57% of visible homelessness in South County cities and 31% in Mid and North County cities; only 12% were in unincorporated areas. The county’s analysis also highlighted subgroup trends: veteran homelessness declined thanks to targeted interventions, while family, youth and older‑adult homelessness increased in ways that require different housing sizes and support services.

Council members pressed for clarity about how the count treats vehicles and whether the traffic‑ and transportation‑project assumptions used in future planning were included in the analysis. County staff said the PIT includes separate tallies for people living in vehicles and that HMIS data capture those who enter services; staff also said cumulative traffic and other planning projects were considered in project‑level analyses. Councilmember Kiriakou asked that future reports capture additional local context and potential interaction with planned local transportation projects.

Why it matters: County officials said the growing share of people living in vehicles suggests the system is increasingly seeing people at the early stages of housing loss — a group that is cost‑effective to reach with prevention and diversion. County presenters estimated prevention costs are far lower than the average public system costs of resolving long‑term homelessness.

Next steps: County and city leaders agreed to continue collaboration on prevention, vehicle‑focused outreach, and matching housing types to need. Several council members urged more funding for upstream eviction prevention and mental‑health supports to avoid additional inflows to homelessness.

Speakers quoted in this report spoke during the County of Santa Barbara presentation to the Goleta City Council on July 15, 2025.