The Pasadena City Council was recently briefed on the findings from this year’s homeless count, which was conducted on the evening of Jan. 24 and morning of Jan. 25 by the group Urban Initiatives and the city.
The count was made up of two components: an unsheltered count (those sleeping outdoors, on streets, or in parks/vehicles) and a sheltered count (those staying in shelters, transitional housing, or using motel/hotel vouchers).
Although the city has seen a long-term downward trend in homelessness, staff reported that there was in fact a “slight uptick in 2017.”
The total count yielded 575 homeless individuals, an eight percent increase since 2016 (530 homeless).
Although the sheltered population saw an increase of 28 percent (50 people) since 2016, the majority of Pasadena’s homeless population remains unsheltered (60 percent live outdoors or in vehicles).
The report cites that the number of homeless veterans went down by 32 percent, as well as the number of chronically homeless (down 14 percent). The decrease in homeless veterans was attributed to the opening of several permanent supportive housing facilities in 2016, but with no more of these projects in the books for the foreseeable future, “these decreases are not expected to continue into 2018,” according to the report.
Despite this year’s lower figures, the health needs of these two aforementioned populations “became more significant.” Specifically, the chronically homeless population has more disabling health conditions than 2016: 76 percent have physical disabilities, 67 percent have chronic health conditions, 52 percent struggle with mental illness, 31 percent have developmental disabilities, and 30 percent have substance abuse disorders.
The report also states that any future improvements are closely tied to LA County’s efforts: “until great progress is made in reducing the county’s homelessness population, it will continue to impact Pasadena.”
This year saw many official steps taken – the passage of Measure H, Proposition HHH, and the state’s No Place Like Home program will help provide funding to continue the crusade against homelessness.
To view the full report, visit: PasadenaPartnership.org/homeless-count-reports.
