At the end of December, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates, which provides an annual snapshot of individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings across the US. The report found that more than 770,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase from 2023, which underscores the severity of the country’s housing and homelessness crisis.
Despite such dire national results, Los Angeles County’s 2024 PIT Count demonstrated encouraging results. For the first time in 7 years, homelessness in LA County did not increase, with a modest 2% decrease in overall homelessness. Across the County, unsheltered homelessness dropped even more by 5.1%, while the number of people in shelter rose by 12.7%. Significant financial investments in all areas of homeless service provision from street to permanent housing, expanded person-centered encampment resolution programs, rehousing system improvements that address bottlenecks, and strengthened coordination across all entities have all been cited as reasons for LA County’s progress.
While San Diego’s 2024 PIT count saw a 3% increase in homelessness, this was far lower than the national average and lower than the 20% increase experienced here in 2023. Investments in critical system infrastructure and programs that make a difference were also cited as reasons for the stabilization of their numbers. More recent system performance data from San Diego shows more promising findings; November was the first month where the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego County moving into permanent housing outpaced those who lost a place to stay. Indeed, this is an encouraging sign in light of the region’s affordability challenges.
While more clearly needs to be done, these results demonstrate the potential of varied housing solutions, both permanent and interim, in addressing the housing and homelessness crisis. The LeSar family of firms will continue to support localities as they explore and implement these options.
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