New data out of Sacramento County shows nearly 9,000 people are now logged in the local homelessness system, a number that outpaces the county’s most recent one-night snapshot. County officials and service providers say the higher figure reflects more people being connected to programs and changes in how people are counted, rather than a sudden spike in people living outside. Either way, the tally is another sign of growing strain on shelters and caseworkers as the county tries to keep housing options in step with demand.
The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) counted 8,996 people in September, as reported by The Sacramento Bee. That total is roughly 50% higher than the county’s June point-in-time estimate of 6,615, the Bee notes. Trent Simmons, who oversees data for Sacramento Steps Forward, told the paper, “More people are engaging with the system. It’s not necessarily that homelessness has increased,” a point local leaders lean on when explaining the jump.
Different Counts, Different Methods
HMIS functions as a rolling client database used by shelters and service providers to track people who have had contact with the system over recent months, according to Sacramento Steps Forward. The Point-in-Time (PIT) count, by contrast, is a one-night canvass. That method estimated about 6,615 people experiencing homelessness in the county’s January 2024 survey, per Sacramento Steps Forward and local reporting from Elk Grove. Because HMIS captures anyone who has touched services over time while PIT focuses on a single night, experts say it is not unusual for the two numbers to move in different directions.
Officials Say Yearly Numbers Tell A Larger Story
County leaders told The Sacramento Bee that the annual reach of homelessness is far higher than either snapshot suggests. They estimate roughly 20,000 different people may experience homelessness in Sacramento County over the course of a year, and the shelter-bed wait list can reach about 4,000 people on any given night. Those backlogs are a major reason officials and advocates keep pushing for more emergency beds along with quicker pathways into permanent housing. Providers caution that while better counting makes the scale of need more visible, it also raises the pressure to create long-term solutions instead of relying solely on temporary fixes.
New Beds, Safe-Stay Campus And Funding
To chip away at those wait lists, the county is finishing a Safe Stay campus on Watt Avenue that will offer a mix of shelter and basic services, according to county documents. The Watt Avenue site, listed at 4837 Watt Avenue, is described on the county’s Safe Stay page as providing roughly 225 cabin-style beds, plus additional safe-parking spaces and weather-respite capacity. County budget materials indicate that much of the project is backed by federal ARPA dollars and other funds. Officials say construction and site setup are on track so that people can begin moving in next spring as operations ramp up…