Hundreds of volunteers are fanning out across Santa Clara County to count how many homeless people are living on the street and find out how they got there.
Every two years, the county participates in a two-day, federally mandated point-in-time count to gather information on the number of homeless people on streets and in shelters. The count helps the county, state and federal government assess demographics and how to allocate money to help alleviate homelessness. Approximately 721 volunteers are participating in this year’s count, including 292 with lived homeless experience, according to county officials.
An app provided by Simtech Solutions, Inc., the new point-in-time count vendor, is being used by volunteers to enter the count data and survey answers during interviews with unhoused residents. This is different from last year when the count was done over a two-day period, followed by paper surveys in the field afterward. This has raised questions as to whether there’s enough time to count everyone. Point-in-time counts are considered to underestimate how many homeless people there are.
“Of course, as we’re seeing in practice, it is also a slower process, so we’ll have to see what we learn from today, and whether or not we feel that we’re able to get to everyone,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told San José Spotlight. “As the day starts and people start moving around, it becomes harder to make contact with people. So I think it’s just a learning experience for everyone.”
The last count conducted in 2023 showed there are roughly 9,903 homeless residents in Santa Clara County, with 6,340 in San Jose alone. San Jose has the fourth highest homeless population in the U.S.
Mahan and District 6 Councilmember Michael Mulcahy joined People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) to conduct a count in downtown early Wednesday. PATH workers surveyed homeless people about how long they’ve been unhoused, if this is their first time experiencing homelessness, whether they’re veterans, if they’re pregnant, whether they’re interested in staying in a shelter and if they use drugs or alcohol. Participants are offered $10 gift cards for answering questions.
These questions help shape the county’s supportive programs and attain the federal funding for it, PATH Regional Director Tamra Chávez said.
“It informs us of how we fund services and what’s needed,” Chávez told San José Spotlight. “We have to be able to demonstrate that there’s a need for that, and I think that data will be able to inform us.”
Knowing what leads to someone becoming homeless also helps inform how San Jose tackles the issue.
Mahan said he learned that roughly 20% of homeless people in the county were from outside the area. This year he plans to initiate a pilot program called Homeward Bound, which aims to house homeless people by reconnecting them with their families and support networks outside the county. The program is slated to begin next month.
“Knowing more about what led someone into homelessness, how long they’ve been out on our streets, what their barriers to housing are, are all important inputs to the solutions we design,” Mahan told San José Spotlight.
At Columbus Park, more than two dozen Homefirst workers counted the cars and RVs in the area, knocking on doors or calling out to those living in tents to see if anyone wanted to participate in the survey.
Beatriz Ramos, HomeFirst chief program officer, said the morning started off slow, but engagement picked up as the day progressed.
“We’re noticing a lot more people living in their RVs and in vehicles, specifically in (Columbus Park), and we had pretty good engagement with individuals willing to speak with us for the survey,” Ramos told San José Spotlight.
San Jose has begun temporarily banning RVs across designated areas. It has selected 30 temporary tow-away zones for RVs to be cleared for street sweeping throughout this year. The city will be opening a safe parking site in Berryessa next month.
Some advocates worry changes to how this year’s count is conducted might skew the results. Santa Clara County isn’t searching for homeless people on every street as in previous years, but will concentrate efforts in areas where homeless people are likely to be found.
“I’m concerned there will be an undercount, possibly for political reasons,” Sandy Perry, board vice president of the South Bay Community Land Trust, told San José Spotlight. “There are so many sweeps happening and people are moved out to new areas. If we stop having accurate homeless counts, my concern is that people will not recognize the seriousness of the housing crisis.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.
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