Temecula, Riverside County Homeless Population Drops by 30%+

Riverside County's homeless population has decreased by more than 30 percent in the last two years and county officials say it's due in part to local jurisdictions' focus to "rapidly re-house." 

Overall, the county number of homeless decreased by a total of 1,343 from 2011's count of 4,321, officials with the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services announced on Monday in the Riverside County 2013 Homeless Count and Subpopulation Survey.

The total number of 2,978 comes with the results of the 2013 "point in time" homeless count which was conducted in every city and unincorporated area within Riverside County between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. on January 23.  County officials have conducted the bi-annual survey since 2005, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to obtain federal housing dollars.

For the last three years, the county has received more than $20 million in funding, awarded to more than a dozen local agencies who serve the homeless, based on the results the survey finds, according to the report.

"The report said a strengthened network of providers and increased funding that has focused on preventing homelessness and helping individuals and families who are homeless become 'rapidly re‑housed' through temporary, one‑time assistance are factors that have attributed to the decrease," said Jill Kowalski, homeless programs unit manager for the county.  "This network, called the County of Riverside Continuum of Care, is a collaborative of local cities, the county, nonprofit organizations, faith-based and other community-based organizations that work together to help eliminate homelessness."

Kowalski also attributed the decrease in homeless population to a 79 percent increase in beds of "permanent supportive housing"-- totaling an additional 324 beds since 2010-- created with HUD funding.

Locally, counts done in Temecula indicated the area has a total of 81 homeless people.  Nearby Winchester has one.

That decline is consistent with the county average, at about 31 percent change from 2011's report, when 122 people were found to be homeless in the area.  Before that, 105 people were counted in 2007, and 69 were counted in 2009, according to data provided to Patch.

Some of the highest populations of homeless in Riverside County were found in Riverside, with 906, Indio, with 566, and Corona, with 99.

Nearby Murrieta had one of the lowest numbers in the county, beat only by the following communities within the county: Calimesa (0), Canyon Lake (2), Easvale (0), Indian Wells (0), La Quinta (5), Rancho Mirage (1), Cabazon (0), East Hemet (0), Homeland (1), Romoland (0) and Thermal (4).

Countywide, of the 2,978 total homeless population, 1,888 were found "unsheltered," or living on the streets, in abandoned buildings, beneath freeway overpasses and in transient camps.  The remaining 1,090 were housed in some sort of shelter, according to the survey results. 

Here is the breakdown for Temecula, which had a total number of 57 unsheltered adults: 

Chronically Homeless Individuals

• 52% or 30 unsheltered adults were Chronically Homeless Individuals.*

• There were no Chronically Homeless Families.**

• 14% or 8 unsheltered adults were African American/Black;
• 0% or 0 unsheltered adults were American Indian/Alaskan Native;
• 3% or 2 unsheltered adults were Asian/Pacific Islander;
• 18% or 10 unsheltered adults were Hispanic/Latino;
• 65% or 37 unsheltered adults were White.

• 65% or 37 unsheltered adults were men;
• 35% or 20 unsheltered adults were women.

• 0% or 0 unsheltered adults had children;
• 00% or 57 unsheltered adults were single.

• 30% or 17 unsheltered adults had a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart trouble, high blood pressure, seizures, hepatitis, respiratory problems, epilepsy, tuberculosis, or arthritis.
  

• 7% or 4 unsheltered adults had a developmental disability.

• 5% or 3 unsheltered adults had been diagnosed with AIDS or had tested positive for HIV.

• 17% or 10 unsheltered adults had a mental health problem.

• 32% or 18 unsheltered adults had a physical disability.

• 37% or 21 unsheltered adults were released from a correctional institution such as a jail or prison after serving a court-ordered sentence during the past 12 months
• 10% or 2 of the 21 unsheltered adults were provided with information such as housing, social services, transportation, etc. before their release.

• 10% or 6 unsheltered adults were age 62+.

• 22% or 13 unsheltered adults had a problem with drugs or alcohol.

• 7% or 4 unsheltered adults served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or called into active duty as a member of the National Guard or as a Reservist;
• 7% or 4 unsheltered men served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or called into active duty as a member of the National Guard or as a Reservist;
• 0 or 0 unsheltered women served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or called into active duty as a member of the National Guard or as a Reservist.

• 12% or 7 unsheltered adults had been a victim of domestic or intimate partner violence.

• 2% or 1 unsheltered adult was a youth age 18 to 24;
• 0% or 0 persons were unaccompanied youth under age 18.