Ventura County officials report decline in homelessness; point‑in‑time count down 18.5% over two years

Ventura County officials on April 8 presented results of the 2025 point‑in‑time (PIT) count and a six‑month update on the county homelessness plan, reporting an 18.5% decline in the county’s homeless population compared with two years earlier.

"I am excited to report a decrease in our overall homeless count data," said Jen Harkey, program director for the Ventura County Continuum of Care. Harkey told the board the result followed a count conducted January 22 using a mobile mapping app and the help of more than 400 volunteers and city partners.

The update highlighted several specific trends: a 34% drop in chronic homelessness over two years, a 53% decline in unhoused veterans, and a fall in unsheltered transitional‑age youth after openings of dedicated programs. Officials credited coordinated shelter investments, expanded outreach and prioritization for permanent supportive housing.

Kimberly Albers, the county’s homelessness solutions director, briefed supervisors on next steps: ramping up prevention funding, expanding interim housing and shelter access, increasing housing placements and coordinating a countywide encampment response as new state encampment resolution funding flows to the region.

Captain Cameron Henderson, manager of the Sheriff’s Office Homeless Liaison Unit, told the board the unit increased its outreach from 14 operations the year before the unit formed to 56 in its first full year. Henderson said the unit’s presence helps continuity for outreach and reduces patrol calls for nonurgent issues. "We were able to more than triple our outreach, availability and the outreach that we secured throughout the county," Henderson said.

The presentation also noted an increase in permanent housing capacity: 664 affordable housing units dedicated to unhoused people are in the pipeline, and several projects had opened in late 2024. County staff said investments have yielded savings and allowed some contract savings to be applied against earlier state penalties that resulted from exceeding a state hospital admissions cap in a prior year.

Officials emphasized that the needs remain large in some subpopulations — especially seniors and domestic‑violence survivors — and called for continued coordination among cities, law enforcement, health services and housing providers.

Board action and next steps: Supervisors voted unanimously to receive and file the presentation. Staff outlined an implementation checklist including shelter expansion, outreach and housing‑focused case management, encampment response policies and plans to expand prevention assistance through United Way and the Human Services Agency.

Why it matters: Local leaders said the decline shows progress from coordinated investments and outreach but stressed the need for continued housing production, funding for supportive services and interagency coordination to maintain momentum and serve those still unsheltered.