Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New survey shows nearly 2,000 homeless people in Santa Barbara County, an increase from 2020

Preliminary results from Santa Barbara County's homeless count showed a slight increase in the number of people on the streets in 2022.
Dimi Katsavaris
/
Unsplash
Preliminary results from Santa Barbara County's homeless count showed a slight increase in the number of people on the streets in 2022.

Preliminary numbers show an increase of 3.4% from 2020.

Homelessness has increased slightly in Santa Barbara County. That's according to just-released preliminary results of a new survey in the county.

It shows 1,962 people are homeless, up from 1,897 in 2020. The statistics showed that 595 people, who are homeless, are in shelters. That's down from the 674 who were in shelters in 2020.

Santa Barbara has the largest number of homeless, with 822, followed by 457 in Santa Maria and 290 in Lompoc.

More than 400 volunteers helped with what's known as the Point In Time Survey, in teams fanning across 89 areas in the county February 23.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.