By JOVI ZHAOZHOU DAI
zdai@publicintegrity.org
Like they do every year, volunteers Thursday will go to all corners of Merced County to count the number of homeless people who live here.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires a point-in-time count for counties like Merced to receive funding for homeless services.
While the annual count isn’t unusual, what’s different this year is officials have reason to be hopeful that fewer people in Merced County are on the street. Last year’s count was the first time Merced County saw a decline in its homeless numbers after six continuous years of growth.
Merced County’s number of homeless residents decreased by 8.30% since 2022, from 855 people to 784 in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In contrast, the numbers of homeless people in Merced County had increased between 2017 and 2022, where the numbers were 454 to 855, respectively. Until 2021, Merced County’s homeless population had grown by 84% since 2017.
Though Merced County’s homeless population decreased last year, the total numbers were up for California overall and the nation.
The number of homeless people in California rose to 181,399 in 2023 from 171,521 people in 2022, increasing by 5.76%.
Meanwhile, around 653,100 people in the United States were homelessness on a single night in 2023, which was a 12% (or about 70,650 people) increase from 2022.
Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto, who has participated in the local homeless counts, said numerous projects have been completed at the city and council level to address the issue.
“It’s a gargantuan effort in the state of California, I think we’re fighting a rising tide statewide,” Serratto told CVJC.
“We’re fighting some bad, long-term trends in terms of probably increased drug use, increased mental health (issues), higher housing costs. There are big structural issues that are fighting against us. It’s hard to make progress in this environment where you have so many big factors working against you.”
Among the primary major local projects, in 2021 Merced County opened a $6.8 million navigation center at 1411 B Street to provide emergency shelter, case management and other services for the homeless.
In Merced, the city recently completed a 96-unit housing development at 1213 V Street, the former Studio 6 extended stay motel. That project was renovated with millions in state Project Homekey funds.
The Merced Rescue Mission in 2022 opened its Village of Hope campus on Cone Avenue in south Merced. According to the mission’s website, the campus houses the organization’s Hope Respite Care Program, Hope for Veterans Program and Hope for Families Program.
Phil Schmauss, homeless count coordinator at ACE Overcomers, one of the primary organizations involved in the count, said it’s still too early to tell whether the downward trend for homelessness will continue locally – though he remains hopeful.
Schmauss said through Merced County’s Continuum of Care Program in partnership with local governments and organizations, a cohesive strategic plan has been in place to address the issue. Motel vouchers, supportive housing and other special initiatives have been key parts of that strategy.
Because of the increased focus in recent years on the issues of homelessness in Merced County, Schmauss is hopeful the numbers will be more encouraging than in previous years.
Directly engaging and building relationships with members of the unhoused community is key to success, particularly getting them directly connected to services on the spot.
“We used to not have outreach and engagement workers, but we have multiple homeless service providers that are deploying professionals to the streets Monday through Friday,” he said.
Focus on vulnerable populations
Initiatives like the 100 Day Challenge have also yielded positive results in Merced County.
Launched in 2019 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the program allowed local governments to access millions of dollars in emergency homeless aid to target specific populations like veterans and youth.
This was key for Merced County, where people over 24 years old make up the bulk of the homeless population, according to 2023 data.
Schmauss said the goal for local officials was to house 100 youth in 100 days. That played a big role in helping the large number of homeless youth age 18 and under.
“They surpassed that 100, like 157 or 170, and that’s a huge goal and a huge touchdown,” he said.
Schmauss said in addition to complying with federal regulations and requirements, the focus of the count is to give local officials a better idea of the resources they’ll need in order to strategize to address homelessness.
For the homeless street counting, dozens of volunteers are being used, and teams made up of two to four members are assigned to zones.
Data from the homeless count will be released in April 2024.
Jovi Zhaozhou Dai is a data reporter with The Center for Public Integrity in collaboration with the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.
