Marin County issues final report on homeless count

The number of people in Marin experiencing chronic homelessness decreased 24%, to 217, over the last two years, according to the complete results of the latest federally mandated homelessness count.

The count, conducted on Jan. 23, is required every two years by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for all jurisdictions receiving funding to aid homeless people.

The county reported in May that 1,090 homeless people were counted in January, a 2.8% decrease from the 1,121 identified during the previous count in February 2022. The full report, which provides detailed information about the county’s current homeless population, was issued this week.

“The numbers show that prioritizing the most vulnerable and disabled individuals who are homeless for direct pathways to housing is working,” said Gary Naja-Riese, a county homelessness official.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines chronically homeless people as those who have experienced homelessness for a year or longer — or who have experienced at least four episodes of homelessness totaling 12 months in the last three years — and also have a disabling condition that prevents them from maintaining housing.

Between the 2022 and 2024 counts, the county housed 280 of the most vulnerable chronically homeless residents of Marin in supportive housing. Since it initiated its “coordinated entry” system in 2017, the county has housed 700 people. The report contains additional encouraging data.

The number of families experiencing homelessness in Marin decreased about 12% from 73 in 2022 to 64 in 2024. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of families experiencing homelessness increased by 35%. The percentage of unsheltered families decreased from 41% in 2022 to 34% in 2024.

The federal housing department does not require that a person be unsheltered to be classified as homeless during the count. People who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence — such as those living in their vehicles, abandoned buildings, emergency shelters, transitional housing or other places not meant for habitation — also qualify.

The percentage of Marin’s total homeless population that is unsheltered decreased 5% since 2022, to 788.

According to the report, 24% of Marin’s homeless population in 2024 were 55 or older, and 7% were 65 or older.

“Given the lack of affordable housing options in Marin, our seniors are having to move away from their long-time homes, families, churches and synagogues, health care and doctors in order to secure a roof over their heads, or else they end up homeless,” wrote Pat Langley of the Marin Organizing Committee. “No one anticipates having to start all over again as their health declines and resources diminish. We all, including county officials, need to pay attention now.”

The report lacks conclusive data on whether the number of homeless older adults in Marin has increased or decreased since 2022.

Seventy-two homeless people ages 60 or older participated in a survey that was administered to 378 unsheltered people in the weeks following the count. Using responses from these 72 older adults, the report estimated that the number of adults ages 60 years and older experiencing homelessness in Marin decreased from 73 in 2022 to 72 in 2024.

Based on calculations from the survey results, the number of unsheltered older adults in Marin decreased by 44% over the last two years

“We did see a massive increase in the number of those unhoused older adults who are in sheltered homelessness rather than unsheltered homelessness,” said Luke Barnesmoore, a member of the county’s homeless policy steering committee.

“But the overall number is basically static,” Barnesmoore said. “We haven’t been able to actually decrease the rate of older adult homelessness overall.”

Barnesmoore said that often older adults often can’t score high enough on county vulnerability assessments to qualify for the long-term housing assistance they need.

“Families and children are prioritized in a different way by the system,” he said, “so if you’re a family with a dependent child you receive a unique vulnerability assessment that’s different from the assessment you would receive if you don’t have a child.”

Sixty-two percent of the older adults who responded to the survey were White; 9% Latino/Hispanic; 9% Black; and 15% multiracial.

The count included specific outreach to capture data on unsheltered families. Forty-seven percent of those families were Latino/Hispanic, 23% were White and 12% were Black.

Forty-five percent of Marin’s total 1,090 homeless people were White, 21% were Latino/Hispanic and 17% were Black.

When it applied for a third round of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention funds from the state several years ago, the county committed to focusing on Black and Latino/Hispanic populations.

“These populations have been part of our homelessness strategic plan since 2017,” Naja-Riese said. “We’re grateful that we’re in alignment with some of the same things that the state is looking for.”

Other key data in the report included the fact that the number of people in Marin who were experiencing homelessness for the first time declined from 41% in 2022 to 27% in 2024; and that 62% of survey respondents were living in Marin when they began experiencing homelessness compared to 78% in 2022.