Sonoma County Homeless Population Falls 23% Amid Housing Gains, Funding Threats

Sonoma County’s homeless population fell 23%, according to a recently released report detailing a count conducted in January.

Overall, the number of people experiencing homelessness decreased by about 570 people compared with last year’s numbers. The point-in-time survey offers an imperfect snapshot of homelessness in a particular area and includes people living in shelters and on the streets.

Michael Gause, a manager for the county’s Ending Homelessness program, said it’s one of the lowest counts his office has seen in recent years. He attributed the progress to an increase in the number of beds Sonoma County offers, including about 400 in permanent supportive housing facilities.

“I think adding the beds — both in permanent housing [and] rapid rehousing — was a big first step,” he said. “We also did see significant decreases in veterans and transitional age youth 18 to 24.”

Several California counties have reported declines in homelessness rates this year, including Contra Costa, Riverside and Kings counties. In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the progress, saying it reflected success in getting people out of encampments — a goal his administration has pushed over the past year following a Supreme Court ruling expanding cities’ ability to fine and jail people living outside even if no shelter is available.

But officials across the state are worried they won’t be able to sustain the gains in the face of federal and state cuts. In late July, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing federal agencies to stop funding programs that prioritize permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness.

The previous month, Newsom signed a budget with no new funding for one of the state’s largest homelessness services programs.

“The reductions that we’re seeing in Sonoma County prove that progress is possible,” said Edie Irons, a spokesperson with Bay Area nonprofit All Home. “It’s encouraging, but it’s also ironic to see these positive results, even as a lot of the funding that made it possible is now under threat.”

Sonoma County officials said there is still progress to be made. The count found increases in two groups: people experiencing chronic homelessness and families. The survey counted 124 more chronically unhoused people and about 20 more families.

Gause said providers in the county saw more families trying to access shelters, particularly among immigrant groups. Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said she and her colleagues have not made much progress reducing the number of families struggling to find permanent, affordable housing.

“We continue to really struggle with affordability in Sonoma County,” she said. “I think that folks are fighting this battle on all fronts and we don’t have enough of a safety net to keep folks housed while they struggle with these challenges.”

For people who are experiencing chronic homelessness, Hopkins said that group is sometimes called “service-resistent” because they may not want to accept help or the conditions tied to it. Many, she said, “have had experiences in their life that causes them to lose trust in the system,” requiring service providers to take extra care and time to regain that trust.

Among counties reporting declines, Contra Costa County saw one of the steepest drops at 26%. Christy Saxton, director of the county’s Health, Housing and Homeless Services department, credited the county’s 34% increase in beds, both for interim and permanent housing.

“That is all a direct correlation of being able to increase not only beds, but access and other resources for people who are either unhoused or marginally housed,” she said. “With potential funding cuts coming up, we’re deeply concerned [with] how we maintain that level of progress, knowing that the funding is likely going away.”