Counting the homeless

Cold and wet winter days in Sonoma County always flush out news accounts of flooding, fallen trees and dangerous driving conditions. And then there are the stories and reminders of people who are homeless, facing bone-chilling nights on the street, hoping for a cot at an emergency shelter or at least a hot meal or two the next day.
The homeless stories have become familiar to us, because volunteers, our county government and numerous nonprofit agencies have been working together to reduce this chronic and complicated social problem. It’s familiar because we see the shadowy faces, street corner cardboard signs and tarp-draped encampments.
Later this month, the county will lead the annual Point In Time Homeless Count. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 men, women and children will be tallied by trained volunteers. The project is required for the county and its partner agencies to receive federal funding, just under $3 million last year.
Homelessness is about as complicated a social problem as there is. During the count, volunteers will find working families living in cars, military veterans suffering with PTSD, chronic drug and alcohol abusers, individuals with deep emotional or mental health troubles and many “temporary” shelterless people who just lost a job or lost access to the couch they’d been sleeping on until recently.
From our “drive by” vantage point, most of our homeless population looks the same. The reality is quite the opposite. Sonoma County’s homeless population is mostly white male (61 percent), older than age 25 (70 percent), very local (86 percent) and some facing homelessness for the very first time (32 percent.)
We don’t need the gray and cold rains of winter to remind us how expensive it is to live in Sonoma County — especially for housing and rent. The county’s homeless live on an average of $449 per month, with many individuals having a zero income.
“Homelessness is a social issue that impacts all of our cities and communities in Sonoma County. It is an issue that requires a countywide, shared responsibility in planning and development of solutions. One of the critical factors in reducing homelessness is the recognition that the complex problems that lead to homelessness require specific programs and coordinated services directed to specific target populations.”
This text is from the introduction to the County of Sonoma’s 10-year homeless plan, first adopted in 2006 and significantly amended just last year. Government and private agency efforts are being coordinated under a Continuum of Care at the county’s Community Development Commission. A total of 50 organizations and 160 people are involved.
All these programs, greatly supported by volunteers, are making a difference. Last week, the county supervisors approved funds to erect a village of “tiny houses” on vacant land at the county administration center. Last month, the county added funds to support a shelter and service center for local homeless veterans in east Santa Rosa. Federal HUD funds are being awarded to a Santa Rosa motel owner to convert 104 rooms to transitional and emergency subsidized shelters.
All these efforts are part of a “housing first” model where access to shelter is combined with access to health care, counseling, food donations and other social services.
As the county’s homeless action plan states, every community has its own impacts of poverty, untreated mental health cases, drug and alcohol abuse and lack of affordable housing.
Over recent years, an average of 30 people, classified as “homeless” have died here each year. Just reading the official cause of these deaths is all we need to know about this problem we are facing. Listed causes include compromised health, exposure, drug overdose, pedestrian-vehicle accidents, suicide, murder, AIDS and “natural causes.”
We applaud our county government and all others, notably Catholic Charities, Redwood Gospel Mission and other local churches, for making “homeless lives matter.” And, let’s not wait another year for a rainy season story to also get involved and lend our support.
— Rollie Atkinson