About 500 volunteers spent Wednesday morning counting the homeless population in Alameda County, before doing the same thing in San Francisco throughout the night.
The head count is the first in the Bay Area since the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires what is called a “point in time” head count of the homeless population every two years. The 2021 count was postponed due to the pandemic.
But many experts expect to see a significant increase in the homeless count since the start of the pandemic, although final data will be available this summer.
The 2019 homeless count showed Alameda County’s homeless population had increased by nearly half over two years. Oakland accounted for nearly half of the increase - with the highest increase in the Bay Area. The city had more than four-thousand homeless people in 2019, nearly double their count from two years priore.
San Francisco counted about 8,000 people living in shelters, jails or on the streets three years ago.
Many experts say homelessness exploded throughout the Bay Area over the last few years. Encampments have popped up under freeways and tents and RVs now line many neighborhood streets and parks. But exact numbers are now outdated. An exact count of the homeless population will help determine both federal and city funding for homeless services and support.
