SLO County homeless data shows numbers falling as shelters grow. Here’s a look at the data
San Luis Obispo County’s homeless population is getting smaller — but not in the city of San Luis Obispo itself.
In 2024, the county’s homeless population numbered around 1,175 individuals, according to the newly published Point-in-Time Count — a 19% decline from the most recent homeless census in 2022.
According to the new tally, 375 of the 1,175 homeless individuals counted had access to some form of shelter at locations such as 40 Prado Homeless Services Center and the El Camino Homeless Organization’s North County shelters.
But while the county’s overall homeless population shrank by nearly 300 individuals between the 2022 and 2024 counts, location-specific data in the report showed that the city of San Luis Obispo saw a significant spike in its homeless population.
Between the two counts, the number of unhoused individuals living in San Luis Obispo grew from 385 to 512, according to the report.
According to the 2024 report, this trend was not limited to San Luis Obispo; major population centers such as Atascadero and Paso Robles similarly saw spikes in their homeless population in 2024.
“No one jurisdiction can handle this problem,” San Luis Obispo City Council member Michelle Shoresman said at a Wednesday forum on homelessness. “We need to work together and depend on each other to help figure out how to solve these problems.”
Here’s what the data says about where San Luis Obispo County’s municipalities have room to improve — and where they’ve made significant strides.
Homelessness declined most in smaller communities, data shows
Though undercounting is a common issue in point-in-time counts, 2024’s census is expected to provide much more accurate data than the 2022 count due to a change in methodology, with a particular focus on getting more respondents to answer survey questions, according to a release from the county in May.
In the previous count, just 29% of people answered survey questions, which jumped to 64% in the most recent count. In 2024, 797 individuals were identified as experiencing unsheltered homelessness, of which 510 were surveyed.
Data for the 2024 Point-in-Time Count — collected from Jan. 23-31 by volunteers — showed that homeless individuals living in San Luis Obispo County were more likely to have some form of shelter or temporary accommodations than ever before, with sheltered homelessness hitting the highest mark since 2015.
This year, 375 people were counted as sheltered, with the remaining 797 experiencing unsheltered homelessness on the streets — a significant improvement to the 292 sheltered people and 1,156 unsheltered people in 2022’s count.
In 2024, the largest source of homeless population decline came from unincorporated communities such as Los Osos, Nipomo and Oceano. The 2024 count found just 164 homeless individuals in unincorporated places — a 67% decline from the 497 unhoused people counted there in 2022.
San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Pismo Beach all experienced increases or continuations in the size of their homeless populations to varying degrees, while Morro Bay and Paso Robles registered declines in overall homelessness.
The four cities that have homeless shelters — San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Grover Beach and Atascadero — saw their sheltered populations rise over the past two years, with San Luis Obispo’s sheltered population growing from 127 to 202.
Between 2022 and 2024, sheltered homelessness grew from 20% of the population to 32%, according to the count.
What does SLO County’s homeless population look like?
In 2024, a homeless individual living in San Luis Obispo County was more likely to experience chronic homelessness than in 2022, when 282 individuals were considered chronically homeless.
But while the number of people considered chronically homeless grew to 355 in total this year, chronically homeless individuals were more likely to have shelter, with sheltered chronic homelessness growing from 15% to around 21%.
San Luis Obispo County’s 281 chronically homeless residents counted in 2024 made up 35% of the county’s unsheltered population, indicating that people are going without shelter for longer these days.
Around half of the unsheltered population that was surveyed, or 237 people, said they had been homeless for one to five years, with 175 responding that they had been homeless for more than five years.
Homeless residents here were far more likely to be male, with 740 — or 62% of the population — identifying as male.
In 2024, homeless SLO County residents tended to skew older, aligning with the past several years of senior homeless population growth.
Nearly a quarter of the county’s homeless population were seniors, with 239 people between the ages of 55 and 64 and 100 individuals over the age of 65.
Homeless adults under the age of 55 made up the majority of the population, with the age 35-44 demographic leading all others with a total of 256 individuals.
In 2024, 89 children under the age of 18 were counted, with 28 youth counted as unaccompanied.
Though mental and physical health continued to be a struggle for homeless individuals living in San Luis Obispo County, the county has made strides in several key health-related areas, the 2024 report found.
A total of 297 homeless individuals — or 25% of the homeless population — reported having a substance abuse disorder in 2024, compared to 35% in 2022.
What does SLO County’s homeless population need most?
When asked what they needed most, homeless residents listed housing, transportation and employment as their top service needs.
Housing was the top need, with 51.6% saying they needed housing services most, followed 25.3% who said they needed transportation services.
Around 32% of respondents said they needed “other” services such as inmate services, identification assistance, therapy, storage, help getting medical assistance, government cooperation, more supplies, dental assistance, non-congregate shelter, auto repair assistance, safe parking programs and access to showers.
In a news release, county Department of Social Services deputy director Linda Belch said the trends seen in the 2024 count show signs of improvement — but there’s still plenty of work to do.
“The 2024 Point-in-Time Count provides invaluable information that only strengthens our understanding of homelessness in our community,” District 5 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said in a county news release on the report. “We’re able to use this data to identify service gaps and pursue effective policies and programs. It’s all about refining our approach and making meaningful progress toward ending homelessness in San Luis Obispo County.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
