1. HOMELESSNESS IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY - WHAT DOES THE DATA TELL US?
Santa Barbara Foundation – Thursday, March 19, 2015

2. REGISTRY WEEK 2015

3. VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT January 28 & 29, 2015 600+ trained volunteers
Countywide survey, by neighborhood
Streets, vehicles, shelters
Tools of Engagement = socks,
cereal bars, $5 food vouchers

4. POINT IN TIME COUNT
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) requires:
Counts of individuals and families living in shelter to be conducted annually.
Counts of individuals and families living on the street to be conducted biennially.
Individuals and families who meet “core definition” of homeless are counted.
The Point in Time Count is a “snapshot” – methodology does not allow us to capture data on every single person who experiences homelessness over an extended period of time.

5. POINT IN TIME COUNT (cont.)
Chronically Homeless:
An unaccompanied homeless individual or head of household with a disabling condition, who has been continuously homeless for a year or more;
An unaccompanied individual or head of household with a disabling condition who has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.
People experiencing chronic homelessness tend to be more visible and more vulnerable.
Chronic homelessness is also very costly to communities.

6. VULNERABILITY SURVEY
Gathers additional self-reported data on the people experiencing homelessness in our community.
To effectively address homelessness, we must:
Know every person experiencing homelessness by name.
Carefully assess the health and housing needs of every person experiencing homelessness.
Rigorously track and measure progress on an ongoing basis, making calculated adjustments to track and improve performance.
Target resources to the most vulnerable individuals and families, quickly and predictably.

7. VULNERABILITY SURVEY (cont.)
VI-SPDAT – Vulnerability Index Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool
NEW in 2015: implemented VI-SPDAT, an evidence-based prescreen “supertool.”
Enables rapid assessment of health/social needs, based on self-reported data.
Data is then used to prioritize housing and services for the most vulnerable.

8. iSURVEY APPLICATION 2015: new iSurvey app replaced most paper surveys.
For smartphones & tablets.
Immediate upload of data.
Increased efficiency & security.
Reduced manual data entry & errors.

9. 2015 COUNT & SURVEY DATA

10. POINT IN TIME COUNT DATA: 2011 – 2015
GENERAL COUNT INFORMATION
2015
2013
2011
Individuals Encountered
1,455
1,466
1,536
% Change from Previous Count
-0.75%
-4.56%
N/A
Similar number of individuals encountered all three survey years.

11. DISTRIBUTION BY REGION

12. LOCATION PRIOR TO HOMELESSNESS
54% of 2015 survey respondents report that they lived in Santa Barbara County prior to becoming homeless.
23% of 2015 survey respondents report that they came to Santa Barbara County from another part of California.
LOCATION BEFORE HOMELESS
2015* %
COMBINED DATA
2011 – 2015**
North Santa Barbara County
23.5%
23.9%
South Santa Barbara County
30.0%
25.2%
Other Part of State
22.5%
17.9%
Out of State
22.0%
13.1%
Not Listed
2.0%
19.9%
TOTAL
100%
*Of 840 completed VI-SPDAT surveys.
**Of 2,767 completed VI/VI- SPDAT surveys.

13. GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFO GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFO
GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS
GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFO
2015
2013
2011
Average Age 43 41
Oldest Contact 83 84 77
83 years old – age of oldest contact in 2015.
5.5 years – the average length of time homeless, based on 2015 survey data.
GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFO
2015 %
COMBINED DATA
2011 – 2015
Male
75%
69%
Female
25%
30%
Transgender
0.2%
0.1%

14. GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS (cont.)
GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFO
2015* %
COMBINED DATA
2011 – 2015**
Foster Care
16%
14%
Victim of Domestic Violence
33%
30%
Victim of Violence/Trauma
57%
47%
ER Visits – Previous Year
36%
35%
Hospital Admissions – Previous Year
Jail
73%
68%
Prison
26%
22%
33% of 2015 survey respondents self- report experiencing domestic violence.
57% of 2015 survey respondents self- report experiencing violence/trauma.
High rates of incarceration self- reported across all survey data.
*Of 840 completed VI-SPDAT surveys.
**Of 2,767 completed VI/VI- SPDAT surveys.

15. HEALTH INSURANCE
HEALTH
INSURANCE
2015* %
COMBINED DATA
2011 – 2015**
Medi-Cal
54.8%
29.9%
Medicare
8.2%
7.2%
Medi/Medi
3.5%
2.8%
VA Healthcare
3.9%
Private Insurance
3.6%
Other 0%
5.4%
No Insurance
20.4%
39.5%
Not Listed
5.6%
8.9%
TOTAL
100%
74% of 2015 survey respondents self-report enrollment in some form of health insurance.
~55% of 2015 survey respondents self-report enrollment in Medi-Cal.
*Of 840 completed VI-SPDAT surveys.
**Of 2,767 completed VI/VI-SPDAT surveys.

16. HEALTH-RELATED DEMOGRAPHICS
2015* %
COMBINED DATA
2011 – 2015**
Hepatitis
12%
11%
Traumatic Brain Injury
24%
19%
Coronary Artery Disease/Hypertensive Heart Disease
18%
26%
COPD/Asthma
Cold Weather Injury 7% 6%
Hot Weather Injury 9%
Prescribed Medications
38%
37%
Taking Medications
60%
25%
24% of survey respondents self- report traumatic brain injury.
Observe similar rates of self-reported chronic illness, injury, and physical disability across all survey data.
*Of 840 completed VI-SPDAT surveys.
**Of 2,767 completed VI/VI-SPDAT surveys.

17. HEALTH-RELATED DEMOGRAPHICS (cont.)
2015* %
COMBINED DATA
2011 – 2015**
Liver Disease 9% 7%
End Stage Renal Disease 4% 3%
Alcohol Abuse
52%
45%
Mental Illness
64%
54%
Severe Mental Illness
48%
34%
Treated for Mental Health Issue
56%
60%
Physical Disability
28%
21%
Diabetes – Type 1 or 2
10%
Tuberculosis
64% of 2015 survey respondents self- report mental illness, and 48% self-report severe mental illness.
Observe high levels of self-reported alcohol abuse across all survey data.
*Of 840 completed VI-SPDAT surveys.
**Of 2,767 completed VI/VI-SPDAT surveys.

18. LIVING SITUATION - VETERANS HEALTH INSURANCE - VETERANS
VETERAN DATA
LIVING SITUATION - VETERANS
2015* %
Street
40.0%
Vehicle
12.8%
Shelter
35.2%
Doubled Up
0.8%
SRO < 1 year
1.6%
Transitional
5.6%
Other
4.0%
Unknown/Refused
0.0%
TOTAL
100%
HEALTH INSURANCE - VETERANS
2015* %
Medi-Cal
36.0%
Medicare
10.4%
Medi/Medi
3.2%
Private Insurance
0.8%
VA Healthcare
26.4%
No Healthcare
16.8%
Not Listed
6.4%
TOTAL
100%
66.4% of Veteran survey respondents report having a mental health diagnosis.
51.8% of Veteran survey respondents report a PTSD diagnosis.
Consider adding additional Veteran data.
*Of 125 completed VI-SPDAT surveys.
8.3 years – the average length of time 2015 Veteran survey respondents report living on the street, as compared to 5.5 years, the self-reported average for non- Veterans.

19. KEY OBSERVATIONS
Number of individuals encountered remains largely unchanged over the past three Counts.
76% of 2015 survey respondents report that they lived in Santa Barbara County or another part of California, prior to becoming homeless.
People experiencing homelessness continue to face a high risk of violence/trauma and serious injury.
Chronic disease and mental illness are common.
Health insurance enrollment has increased dramatically – 74% of those surveyed report that they are enrolled in some type of health insurance.
Approximately 15% of survey respondents self-identified as Veterans, with an 8.3 year average length homeless.

20. MOVING FORWARD

21. COORDINATED ENTRY
A system through which all homeless-serving programs work together to ensure that services are accessible and appropriately targeted to the immediate needs of a client.
Coordinates program participant intake, assessment, and provision of referrals.
Covers the geographic area, is easily accessible to clients seeking housing and/or services, and includes a standardized assessment tool – the VI-SPDAT.
Will assist providers in collecting and sharing data on an ongoing basis.

22. NEXT MEETING