More Homeless Call Santa Monica Home

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

March 3 -- In a city dubbed the home of the homeless, there may be more homeless than ever.

According to a report released Thursday by the City, County officials who counted heads and poured over statistical data collected a year ago estimate that each night the affluent streets of Santa Monica are home to nearly 1,991 homeless men, women and children.

The study also found that over the course of a year, nearly 4,321 persons will experience homelessness in Santa Monica.

Based on the County’s numbers, the homeless represent more than 2 percent of the California beach town’s 84,080 residents, although Santa Monica officials suggest that the 1,192 homeless actually counted during the three-day census may be more accurate.

Both numbers, however, point to an upward trend over the last seven years, when a one-night 1999 count estimated 1,037 homeless individuals living within Santa Monica’s borders.

By the County’s estimate, Santa Monica -- which accounts for only .88 percent of the County’s population as whole -- claims 2.4 percent of the county’s 88,342 homeless. And while the city accounts for 14 percent of the Westside service planning area’s total population, it claims 29 percent of the area’s 6,860 homeless.

Whether it’s the City’s conservative 15 percent increase, or the County’s 92 percent jump in Santa Monica’s homeless population, both trends are disturbing, say City officials, who have begun steering the City’s homeless policies in a bold new direction during the past year. (see story)

“I think the results of the 2005 count show that the (current homeless model), as good as it is, is not reaching everyone,” said Stacey Rowe, the City’s Human Services administrator.

“We need to continue with the efforts we began in 2004 to reach the most chronically homeless,” Rowe said.

After a 2005 poll once again found that homelessness was the major concern among Santa Monica residents, City officials last year began looking for new strategies to tackle the problem. They spent the lion’s share of a $1 million grant on rent for supportive housing and paid former county supervisor Ed Edelmen $200,000 to drum up support in neighboring cities. (see story)

The City also began targeting the “chronically homeless” -- those who have been on the street the longest -- to get them into supportive housing and services.

Though the City is embarking on new strategies, Santa Monica officials insist they are not abandoning the current service model, known as the Continuum of Care. They say the model has helped nearly 5,000 adults since June of 2001, although an audit has been scheduled this summer to gauge its effectiveness.

During the census taken in Santa Monica last January, the homeless were counted in 10 of the city’s 19 census tracts, or 53 percent of all tracts, compared to 28 percent in the rest of Los Angeles. (see story)

Despite the comprehensive count, the information provided in the City’s report does not contain demographic breakdowns by race, age or gender.

Of the 1,192 homeless counted in Santa Monica, 80 percent were counted on the streets, compared to 88 percent counted on the streets countywide.

Of those counted, 91 percent were individuals and 9 percent families, compared to 24 percent countywide. No homeless families were counted in Santa Monica outside of shelters. Countywide, 87 percent of the families counted were unsheltered.

While City officials are concerned about the accuracy of the County numbers, they say the information will come as an invaluable tool as the City embarks on new strategies. At the top of the list is enlisting more help from neighboring cities, according to the report issued Thursday.

“Santa Monica’s past and current efforts, and the new initiatives begun over the past two years to move people from the streets and into housing and services, are clearly effective,” the report said.

“But the numbers,” it added, “also show that Santa Monica is shouldering more than its fair share of the burden. Clearly, more needs to be done throughout the region -- a region which houses 12 percent of the nation’s homeless.”