3-in-4 of the County’s Homeless Population Live Unsheltered
Rising rent or mortgage costs, foreclosure, loss of a job, or simply not having enough money to afford the high upfront costs of renting or buying are challenges that can force many families into living conditions they would not choose otherwise. Living doubled- or tripled-up due to economic constraints can place stress on personal relationships, housing stock, public services, and infrastructure. When shared housing is not an option, the result can be homelessness. This indicator measures housing security in San Bernardino County by tracking the demand for rental assistance and public housing, the number of public school students who are homeless or have insecure housing arrangements, and the point-in-time homeless count.
How is San Bernardino County Doing?
TREND
Approximately 1-in-14 school age students have insecure housing. In the 2019/20 school year, 30,270 San Bernardino County K-12 students were identified as homeless or lacking secure housing, representing 7.0% of total enrollment.1 This constitutes a decline of 26% since the 10-year high of 38,082 homeless students in 2015/16. Among homeless and housing insecure students, 91% are living doubled- or tripled-up in a home due to economic hardship, 4% live in motels, 2% live in shelters, and 2% live unsheltered in cars, parks, or campgrounds.
MORE THAN 30,000 SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY CHILDREN LACK SECURE HOUSING
Number of San Bernardino County Students Identified as Homeless or Housing Insecure by Primary Nighttime Residence, 2010/11-2019/20
Due to high demand and low supply, most residents seeking a rent subsidy from their local Housing Authority will wait many years before the opportunity arises. In 2020, there were nearly 57,141 households waiting for a rental assistance voucher.2 A monthly point-in-time estimate of 9,466 households currently receive a rental assistance voucher.3 In addition to voucher rental assistance, a point-in-time estimate of 150 families receive public housing assistance, with 1,654 on the waitlist.4
NEARLY 60,000 HOUSEHOLDS AWAIT HOUSING VOUCHER ASSISTANCE
Number of Households Receiving Housing Voucher Assistance and Number of Households on Waitlist for Housing Voucher Assistance in San Bernardino County, 2020
The San Bernardino County Homeless Count and Subpopulation Survey is an annual census of the number of people experiencing homelessness in a 24-hour period in January.5 The 2019 count revealed that 3,125 people were homeless, an increase of 20% compared to the 2,607 homeless counted in January 2019 and 48% more than the 2,118 homeless counted in January 2018. Fully 76.5% of the homeless counted in 2020 were unsheltered. The remainder were sheltered in some type of housing for the homeless.
NUMBER OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS IS INCREASING OVER TIME
Number of Individuals Who Are Homeless by Sheltered and Unsheltered Status in San Bernardino County, 2018-2020
CHARACTERISTICS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY’S UNSHELTERED HOMELESS POPULATION
Source: 2020 San Bernardino County Homeless County and Subpopulation Survey Final Report
RACE/ETHNICITY DETAIL
Most unsheltered individuals (70%) identified their ethnicity as Non-Latino, while 30% identified as Latino. The majority of individuals (57%) identified their race as White. Twenty-one percent identified their race as Black and 18% as an “Other” racial category.6
MOST UNSHELTERED INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFY AS WHITE AND/OR NON-LATINO
Percent of Unsheltered Individuals in San Bernardino by Race and Ethnicity, 2020
Note: Race data and ethnicity data were reported separately by the data source.
Source: 2020 San Bernardino County Homeless County and Subpopulation Survey Final Report