Vista committee reviews point-in-time, by-name list and program updates; asks for clearer counts and monthly reporting

The Homelessness Committee heard monthly and program-level updates on homelessness response data, including the county point-in-time (PIT) count, a newly compiled unsheltered by-name list for Vista, Shelter Ready adoption among shelters, Boynton Creek Navigation Center (BCNC) outcomes, San Diego Rescue Mission monthly inflows/outflows, the Townspeople shared-housing program and Operation Hope shelter statistics.

County and city counts: Staff reported countywide PIT results published the previous Tuesday showing 9,905 people counted as experiencing homelessness in 2025, a 7% decrease from 10,605 in 2024. Staff said county unsheltered counts decreased 6% (from 6,110 to 5,714). Vista-specific slides showed an overall change of –2.2% and a 3% decrease in unsheltered counts; staff reported 144 unsheltered people counted in Vista on the PIT night.

By-name list and definitions: Jonathan Long, Homeless Services Program Manager, presented the city’s by-name unsheltered list. Staff said the list captures individuals the outreach teams had contact with in the last 90 days; as presented, the Vista unsheltered by-name list totaled 240 people at the beginning of the month. The Rescue Mission reported 46 new inflows during the reporting period (22 newly experiencing homelessness, 13 returns to homelessness, 11 returns to active) and 31 outflows (3 to permanent housing and 28 to other destinations such as shelters). The list will drop individuals if outreach teams do not make contact for 90 days; the 90-day rule was described as a HUD/RTFH standard but committee members were told the city can present the list using alternate time windows if desired.

Data tools and availability: Committee members and the mayor pressed for a live or at-minimum monthly dashboard fed by a data specialist. Staff and provider representatives said six outreach staff and an expanding team would maintain the by-name and a separate high-utilizer list (26 people identified as high utilizers needing targeted attention). Shelter Ready, a placement app, is in use by 18 organizations in North County and by six emergency shelters for referrals. The committee requested monthly reports that compare 30/60/90-day views, vacancy and shelter-availability metrics and origin-destination information (where people were last permanently housed and how long they had lived in Vista in the prior five years).

Boynton Creek Navigation Center and shelters: Nanette Stingstra presented April intake and exit metrics for Boynton Creek Navigation Center (BCNC). In April BCNC had 16 intakes; staff said 11 of those clients were previously living in places not meant for human habitation. For April exits, BCNC reported 16 exits: five clients moved into permanent housing (two into rentals without subsidy, two with subsidy, one to a live-in caregiver), five into temporary housing (hotels or transitional housing) and six returned to the street. BCNC reported an average length of stay before exit to all destinations of 81 days and an average 63 days before exit to permanent housing (April exits only). Staff said BCNC provided client assistance funds for deposits, moving costs and transportation and referred many clients to mental-health and enhanced-care services.

San Diego Rescue Mission monthly snapshot: Daniel Schacht reported the Rescue Mission’s by-name list began the month with 225 active individuals, recorded 46 inflows and 31 outflows, and ended the month with 240 active people. Schacht said the unsheltered by-name list is distinct from the high-utilizer list that will focus on those with repeated emergency service interactions.

Service gaps: Committee members pressed staff on “no shelter available” incidents. Staff reported 96 shelter-availability service interactions in April where a bed was requested but none was immediately available; staff said the figure may include duplicated offers for the same person. Council members asked staff to provide an unduplicated count of individuals who were denied shelter and requested that the weekly heat map of outreach activity be included in monthly committee packets.

Shared housing and rapid rehousing: Brenda Viveros of Townspeople reported on the shared-housing program: in April the program had 10 new enrollments, 24 active clients representing 19 households and one dependent child reported; since contract inception the program has acquired four master-leased units and the city contract for Townspeople is roughly $320,000 per year. Townspeople reported an average rent-per-household figure of approximately $1,013.32 (no subsidy reported for currently housed participants) and staff said the program primarily serves service- connected referrals and uses a client-centered model with flex funds for first/last month or deposits.

Operation Hope and shelter occupancy: An Operation Hope representative reported the shelter had 43 clients in April, with roughly 40% of clients from Vista and a large share described as children or family households. Operation Hope said bed occupancy during April was high with very short vacancy windows and that its case-management and youth programming continued to operate nightly.

Requests and directions: The mayor asked staff to draft a letter to the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) asking that unincorporated county areas be delineated on PIT reports so city counts are not inflated by adjacent unincorporated tracts; the committee asked staff to report back with the PIT counts attributable to specific census tracts that cross city limits. Staff committed to provide more detailed unduplicated counts for shelter denials, monthly vacancy data for BCNC and comparative cost-per-positive-exit figures for different program types on follow-up reports.

The committee framed the meeting’s outcome as direction to staff to improve the city’s dashboard, provide requested disaggregated counts and return with follow-up metrics; no final policy vote was recorded in the transcript.