The unhoused population in San Joaquin County has more than doubled over the last two years, according to San Joaquin County’s 2024 Point in Time Count.
The San Joaquin County Continuum of Care released preliminary data from the biennial count at the end of May, showing the number of county residents experiencing homelessness has gone from 2,319 in 2022 to more than 4,700 in just two years, of which only about 1,200 are staying in an emergency shelter, transitional or temporary housing.
Those living unsheltered in the county have gone from about 1,300 to more than 3,400.
City specific and demographic data from the count have not yet been released. The continuum, which is required to conduct a PIT Count every two years, submitted its 2024 count data to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and initially anticipated the information would be available to the public in June.
Krista M. Fiser, the newly-minted chair of the Continuum of Care, says they are finalizing the full report now and hope to get it out by the end of the month. Fiser did not give a reason for why the data has not yet been released.
While it is still unclear how much of the increase in the county’s unhoused population is attributed to Stockton, officials believe the count’s findings are concerning for the city.
The 2022 Point in Time Count recorded nearly 900 homeless people in Stockton living unsheltered, making up more than 60% of the county total. However, that number is expected to grow sharply due to a continued lack of affordable housing according to recent data.
State housing costs is the leading cause of homelessness in California, according to a 2023 study by the UC San Francisco Benioff Housing and Homelessness Initiative, described as “the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s.”
Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley is concerned what the increases may mean for Stockton.
“I think it’s very clear to every municipality, whether it’s local, federal or state, that homelessness is on the rise,” Warmsley told Stocktonia earlier this week. “This is definitely going to be an uphill battle in terms of making sure that we have enough beds, support and resources available to our unhoused communities.”
District 4 City Councilmember Susan Lenz said the count reflects the frustrating situation the city has been facing with homelessness.
“We’ve got to do something,” Lenz said. “We’re moving in the wrong direction by doubling.”
According to Lenz, the city is working to come up with solutions but she “constantly” gets calls from her constituents about the unhoused population in Stockton.
“I don’t blame them, you know,” said Lenz. “I wish there was a magic thing we could do, because it’s not fair to the people in our city.”
Fiser says the count’s reported increase might be due to the new system the continuum used this year. Professional researchers who do PIT Counts all across the state of California were brought in to help.
“There was potentially an undercount in 2022,” Fiser said. “This year’s count is significantly more reliable.”
This is not the first time PIT Counts have found a large increase in the unhoused population. The number of unhoused individuals found in the San Joaquin County PIT Count has varied greatly in previous years.
Between 2017 and 2019, the number of unhoused people in the county nearly tripled before seeing a slight decrease in 2022.
There has long been consistent concern and calls for more community support for San Joaquin County’s homeless residents.
“The demand for homeless services have increased year-over-year, accompanied by concerns
from community members, government funding partners and service providers alike,” Fiser said.
Continuum officials highlighted the different actions being taken across San Joaquin County to “address the complex issue of homelessness.”
Along with programs in the cities of Lodi, Tracy and Manteca, the release highlighted a regionally coordinated Homeless Action Plan recently approved by both the Continuum of Care and city of Stockton to “make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
According to the Continuum of Care Housing Report, in 2023 San Joaquin County had around 1,700 year-round beds for transitional housing and emergency shelter. This could only house around half of the unsheltered population found in the 2024 count.
Naomi Jordan is serving a summer internship with Stocktonia. She attends Arizona State University.
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