County survey finds finances top cause of unsheltered homelessness; few sought help before losing housing

Doug Becht, director of the Office of Care Coordination, presented "Falling Through the Safety Net," a county-conducted survey of 840 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, to the Orange County Continuum of Care Board and the Commission to Address Homelessness on Sept. 10. Becht said the survey was deployed in March 2025 by CityNet and sampled roughly 20% of each city's unsheltered population as reported in the 2024 point-in-time count.

The survey, which Becht described as focused on prevention, found that financial factors were the most common contributor to people becoming homeless. "Finances receive the highest response," Becht said in the presentation, which showed that nearly eight in 10 respondents selected finances as a contributing factor and that many reported monthly earned incomes below local median levels. Becht noted that 71% of respondents reported monthly incomes below $3,000 prior to becoming unhoused, and many were paying less than $1,000 toward housing when they lost it.

Becht emphasized the study's sampling limits: it covered only unsheltered people encountered by outreach teams and therefore does not represent sheltered people or those who are at risk but never became homeless. He warned results…