PLACER COUNTY, Calif. —
Placer County has seen little change in its homeless population based on the most recent point-in-time count conducted in February.
A point-in-time count is a snapshot from a single day and is typically seen as an undercount of a community's homeless population, according to Placer County. Homelessness service providers, law enforcement and community volunteers work together to conduct the federally mandated count.
A total of 750 people experiencing homelessness were counted from Roseville to North Lake Tahoe in 2022, compared to 744 people from a count in 2020.
Of the 750 people counted, 46% were sheltered and 54% were unsheltered the night the count was conducted. Almost half of the people surveyed have lived in Placer County for more than five years, or are originally from Placer County.
“That we haven’t seen the dramatic increase in homelessness that other communities have in the past few years shows the value of the collective investments we’ve made in preventing and addressing it,” said Placer County Board of Supervisors Chair and District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson in a statement. “We have a lot of work ahead of us but by maintaining the lowest rate of homelessness in Northern California we’ve built a strong foundation for continued progress toward the quality of life we’ve come to expect in our community.”
Meanwhile, other counties in Northern California, like Sacramento County, have seen an increasing population of unhoused people. Sacramento County's unhoused population reached record highs over the past three years, even surpassing San Francisco.
“We’ve been doubling down on efforts to encourage folks to use the array of available services,” said Health and Human Services Director Dr. Rob Oldham in a statement.
The Placer County Grand Jury also recently released a report that investigated homelessness in Placer County.
The current funding for Health and Human Services HHS is $243,065,397, which is 24% of the total county budget. This amount is then spread among nine departments within HHS. According to the report, no county official could tell the grand jury how much was directly spent on homeless programs.
The grand jury report says even though Placer County has a low percentage of unhoused people compared to other areas, it is still a visible problem in the county.
"The grand jury’s investigation uncovered the fact that there is no single owner or leader in county staff overseeing the homeless issue. The lack of information from HHS made it difficult to compile specific facts and figures needed to accurately report the number of homeless currently residing in Placer County," according to the grand jury report.
Furthermore, the grand jury found because there is no "single owner" it could lead to possible overlap and duplication of services, "resulting in wasted energy, time, and money."
Jazmin Breaux is a board member of the Housing Resource Council of the Sierras (HRCS). HRCS is a nonprofit that works toward preventing and ending homeless in Placer and Nevada County.
A point-in-time count is one indicator of how a community has made progress in addressing homelessness, but it's not the only data the county uses, according to Breaux, who is also a program manager with Health and Human Services for Placer and Nevada County.
A range of services are needed to accommodate a spectrum of people who are experiencing homelessness, and understanding what situations people are experiencing helps the county understand what services are needed.
Breaux said the Tahoe and Truckee region where she is based does not have long-term shelters like in western Placer County.
Service providers in the Tahoe and Truckee region recommend services in other parts of the county that may be able to accommodate longer-term shelters, but Breaux said it doesn't work for everyone.
"The environment in the higher density areas like Auburn and Roseville doesn't work for them," Breaux previously told ABC10. "And also a lot of people that are unhoused in our community have lived here for many many years and so to leave a community that they are part of and that they love to go to a place that is crowded and they don't know anyone — and you know a lot of people don't want to leave and they figured out ways to live up here."
Resources
- Homeless Resource Helpline Nevada County: Call 2-1-1
- Homeless Resource Helpline Placer County: Call 2-1-1 or call (833) 375-2237
- North Auburn shelter operation-related questions: Call 530-885-8108
- Learn more about housing vouchers in Placer County HERE
- Learn more about housing programs in Placer County HERE
- Learn more about whole-person care HERE
Watch more on ABC10
