County point‑in‑time count shows declines; Paso Robles data highlight local needs

At the Aug. 18 City Council meeting, Ashley Hernandez, the city’s homeless services manager, and Linda Belch, deputy director of the county’s Homeless Services Division, presented the 2026 point‑in‑time (PIT) results and a quarterly city update.

Belch said the countywide PIT count on Jan. 26, 2026 identified 1,118 people experiencing homelessness — 666 unsheltered and 452 in emergency or transitional shelter — and described the new census methodology and GIS enhancements used this year. "The countywide count is down 22% from 2022; the reduction in unsheltered homelessness is even greater and is down 42% since 2022," she said, noting that veteran homelessness declined by 47% since 2024.

Hernandez described the city’s coordinated outreach and service efforts. She told council that between Oct. 1 and June 30, Ekko’s 90‑day program helped 111 people exit into permanent housing, the community action team completed 142 outreach contacts and crews removed about 168,000 pounds of trash linked to encampment cleanup. "Our goal is twofold: help people who need services find them, and give residents transparency about what the city is doing," Hernandez said.

The presenters emphasized limitations of a single‑night PIT snapshot and highlighted areas for continued work: chronic homelessness, youth and family homelessness, and improving utilization of existing shelter inventory. Belch stressed that most unsheltered respondents reported local residence of one year or longer, arguing against simple assumptions about “outsiders” driving counts.

Council members pressed staff on family shelter capacity, the role of Ekko’s family wing and the time it takes to transition people from shelter to stable housing. Hernandez and Belch said the recent addition of family shelter beds and strengthened coordinated entry and case management have contributed to progress but that affordable housing production and state funding mechanisms — for example tax credit availability — remain crucial to expand capacity.

Next steps: staff said the city will continue outreach and dashboard reporting and will return with city‑level breakdowns and one‑page summaries on request. The presentations underlined that the city’s strategic plan now includes homelessness as a priority, and officials asked the council to sustain multi‑agency coordination and advocacy for funding to maintain reductions in unsheltered homelessness.