LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The latest numbers from a countywide survey of people experiencing homelessness conducted last month shows an increase in the numbers.
The Point In Time Count, which took place on Jan. 27, counted 572 homeless individuals, according to the Lake County Continuum of Care.
That’s compared to 372 homeless individuals reported in 2019.
Other past PIT count numbers had the following totals, according to previous reports to Lake County News: 2018, 618 homeless; 2017, 450 homeless; 2016, 332 homeless; 2015, 170 homeless; 2014, full count not conducted; and 2013, 188 homeless.
Of the 572 individuals who were reported to be homeless in the January count, 295 were male, 199 were female and 20 refused to identify their gender or were reported as “other.”
In an age breakdown, 99 were older than 55 years of age, 316 were ages 25 to 55, 38 were age 18 to 24, and 29 were under age 18, the count found.
The oldest person the count found to be homeless was 94, a fact which Shannon Kimbell-Auth, Adventist Health Clear Lake’s manager for community integration, said was a finding that broke her heart. The youngest was 5 months old, based on the report.
Kimbell-Auth said the number of children reported as homeless is the lowest they have ever seen in doing the PIT counts and is not at all consistent with McKinny-Vento reporting from the school district.
The report did not give specific numbers for the various communities, but based on a graph the report included, the largest number of homeless, about 240, were reported in Clearlake, followed by 100 in Lakeport, more than 80 in Lucerne, more than 40 in Middletown, more than 30 each in Clearlake Oaks and Upper Lake, less than 20 each in Kelseyville and Nice, and less than 10 in Lower Lake.
The individuals included in the count reported living an average of nearly 18 years in Lake County. Those who said they had family in Lake County totaled 207, with 50 reported experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence, 82 had been served by foster care and 182 said they were homeless for the first time.
Kimbell-Auth said in past years the average length of time the individuals surveyed reported as having lived in Lake County was between 12 and 16 years.
“For the average time to be 18 years shows that while some of the homelessness is transitory, it is predominantly a homegrown problem,” she said. “Likewise 207 people reporting they have family here is startling.”
Forty-one people surveyed in the county reported they are veterans. Kimbell-Auth said that is good news for the purpose of pursuing vouchers through the HUD-VASH Program, which offers rental assistance for homeless veterans and their families with case management and clinical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs at its medical centers. Clearlake is home to a VA Clinic.
Of the 572 individuals counted, 130 reported ongoing health problems: diabetes, 25; heart disease, 22; cancer, nine.
Of those surveyed, 177 reported having been made homeless by one of Lake County’s wildland fires.
Out of that group, 107 identified specific fires responsible for their homelessness: Mendocino Complex, 38; Valley fire, 33; Sulphur fire, 18; Clayton fire, seven; Rocky/Jerusalem, six; Pawnee, one; other (Santa Rosa, Camp fire), four.
The count surveyors asked participants, “Where did you sleep last night?
They received the following answers:
– 348: A place not meant for habitation, which includes tents, cars, abandoned or red-tagged buildings, trailers or RVs without power or water, in a bush, etc.
– 10: Emergency voucher.
– 1: Hospital.
– 2: Halfway house.
– 3: Hotel, no voucher.
– 14: Transitional housing.
– 2: Host home.
– 70: Friends, temporary.
– 11: Friends, permanent.
– 42: Family, temporary.
– 2: Family, permanent.
– 6: Other.
The count’s numbers don’t match with another dataset provided by Partnership HealthPlan of California, which Kimbell-Auth had presented to the Clearlake City Council last month during its discussion of supporting the Hope Center project.
Partnership HealthPlan of California reported that 3,370 individuals who have its insurance and sought medical care in Lake County from January through November of 2019 identified their address as homeless, camping, living in a car or on the streets.
“The Partnership Health Plan numbers are so far greater than what we are able to capture tells me that the urgency to solve the lack of adequate affordable housing cannot be denied,” Kimbell-Auth said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.