County staff reports rising demand for homeless‑prevention aid; program funds running low

County staff provided an update on San Juan County’s homeless‑prevention efforts at the Feb. 17 work session, reporting growing demand for rental, utility and prevention assistance and urging pursuit of state funding for transitional housing and prevention programs.

Rosa, the staff presenter, said the county began outreach in 2024 with website flyers, radio and newspaper ads and hired a part‑time staff member to manage applications. As of the presentation, staff logged 42 total applications: 31 submitted online, 11 in person and 5 resubmissions. From earlier application rounds staff approved a small number of clients (Rosa said one earlier approval and later batches produced around six approvals). The program’s stated goal for fiscal 2024 had been to help 15 individuals; Rosa said that target has already been exceeded and that prevention funds were nearly exhausted.

Rosa walked commissioners through demographic and cause data captured in applications: children constitute the majority of applicants, 12.5% of applicants reported disability, 15.6% cited domestic violence and 9.4% were unemployed. She said immediate‑risk cases represent roughly 3.1% and only 6.3% of applicants were seniors. Rosa explained that HUD counting rules limit which people can be counted as homeless for point‑in‑time totals; the county’s point‑in‑time counts were 23 (2023), 11 (2024) and 7 (2025) outside shelters, and the final 2026 figure was not yet available.

Commissioners asked whether observed street encampments elsewhere affect local counts and whether individuals moved into shelters during counting. Staff said small counties lack the shelter capacity of larger jurisdictions and that HUD’s definitions do not capture “couch surfing” or multigenerational informal arrangements that conceal housing instability in San Juan County. Rosa said staff is tracking state initiatives and grant opportunities for prevention and transitional housing and recommended reallocating budgeted travel and overhead to client assistance to stretch limited funds.

Rosa said the program also assisted three households with utility restorations and noted the urgency of securing additional prevention funds so staff can help people before they lose housing. Commissioners thanked Rosa for the update and discussed watching for state funding to support transitional housing and re‑entry services.

The commission did not take budget action during the work session; staff flagged follow‑up items including monitoring state funding opportunities and revising local budget allocations to prioritize prevention assistance.