FOLSOM, Calif. — Although homelessness saw a decline in the Sacramento area in 2024, the numbers from the most recent Point-in-Time Count show a significant increase in homelessness in Folsom. City officials say it's a number they've been expecting and don't see it as a spike.
Travis Tindall, owner of Planet Earth Rising in Historic Folsom, says homelessness has gotten worse over the last few years.
"I've got somebody out here yelling at customers, making them uncomfortable," he said.
This week, Sacramento County and city officials released the latest PIT numbers, which keeps track of the unhoused. While Sacramento saw a decrease, Folsom saw an increase.
In 2022, Folsom documented 20 people and in 2024, that number jumped to 133. Folsom Mayor Mike Kozlowski wants to be clear about the numbers, though.
"It's absolutely incorrect to describe it as a spike. It is not a surprising number, it is a number that we have known for several years," he said.
The city has worked on ways to address the issue for awhile by trying to give Folsom Police more resources.
"Creating staffing for a homeless outreach team that is specific and assigned for that that thing only in the police department," said Mayor Kozlowski.
As the founder of Jake's Journey Home, a nonprofit providing services to the unhoused, Jeanne Shuman says an outreach team can be helpful, but can only go so far without any immediate housing options in Folsom.
"If they have a place to go that we can keep them and let them live and exist and get them cleaned up a little more, it's going to be more beneficial," said Shuman.
Shuman was a part of this year's PIT count and also says the numbers don't surprise her.
"We try to get in there and help them and clean it up and get them in the services," she said.
While Shuman believes more resources in Folsom could help, Kozlowski says it might be awhile before that happens. In the meantime, Tindall hopes the services currently available can be beneficial to the unhoused and business owners.
This November, Measure G will be on the ballot. Kozlowski says if passed by voters, it'll be a one-cent sales tax specifically for the city of Folsom. He hopes it can be used to address the ongoing issue.
