To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nolan Sullivan, 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: Informational Only
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Results of the 2025 “Point-in-Time” Count of Persons Experiencing Homelessness
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Receive a report of the January 31, 2025, Point-in-Time Homeless Count in Sonoma County
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Executive Summary:
The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) federal agency requires that Continuums of Care (CoCs) conduct an annual count of people experiencing homelessness. Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally.
Sonoma County’s CoC is known as the Homeless Coalition (Coalition), which is a collaborative effort representing the homeless services system of care. The Coalition is governed by a seventeen-member Board, consisting of local elected officials, nonprofit representatives, subject matter experts, and individuals with lived homeless experience. The Sonoma County Department of Health Services (hereinafter, “DHS” or “the Department”) provides staff support and coordination as the Lead Agency for the Homeless Coalition.
The Point in Time (PIT) Count is a count of unsheltered and sheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. In 2025, under the coordination of Applied Survey Research (the Department’s contracted consultant supplying homeless count services) and County Department of Health Services staff, the Sonoma County PIT Count took place on Friday, January 31, 2025. On that one night it counted the number of people sheltered in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and Safe Havens as well as the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness,
In 2025, 1,952 individuals were counted, a decrease of 23% from 2,522 individuals in 2024. More information on possible causes of the decrease and other information on demographics is included below. 1,123 individuals were living in unsheltered circumstances (a decrease of 29% from 2024) and 829 were in sheltered circumstances (a decrease of 12% from 2024).
Discussion:
2025 PIT Count Results
As Lead Agency to the Sonoma County CoC, DHS conducts the annual PIT Count to track progress towards ending homelessness in Sonoma County. HUD requires a local PIT Count of any CoC to enable participating agencies to access HUD’s CoC funding. In 2024, HUD CoC funding for Sonoma County totaled approximately $4.7 million. Some State agencies use PIT Count data to formulate funding allocations. Further, when combined with data from the Department’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the count informs the County’s homeless housing needs.
The 2025 PIT count suggests decreases potentially as a result of:
- The addition of 402 new permanent beds in 2024 (including permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent housing).
- Continued coordination between the County, nine cities, and the Homeless Coalition on funding strategies and implementation of the Strategic Plan. • https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/health-and-human-services/health-services/divisions/homelessness-services/sonoma-county-homeless-coalition/strategic-plan
- Coordination with regional partners on the “By Names List.” A By Names List is kept in each region of the County and updated continuously with the names of individuals known to be experiencing homelessness in the region. On the day of the Count, 1,813 individuals were counted on the By Names List, a very similar number to the overall Count.
See Attachment 2 for the PIT Counts Over the Last Three Years.
Survey
Each year, following the PIT Count, surveys are conducted with individuals and families experiencing homelessness (both sheltered and unsheltered). This is done to gain insight on demographics and experience of single adults, families, and transition-age youth experiencing homelessness. These surveys, over 300 in total, were conducted representing a confidence interval of +/- 4% with a 95% confidence level when generalizing the results of the survey to the estimated population of individuals experiencing homelessness. Surveys were conducted in a peer-to-peer fashion in the two weeks after the PIT Count and include key information on homeless subpopulations.
Subpopulations of individuals experiencing homelessness include individuals experiencing chronic homelessness (defined generally as an individual with at least one year of continuous homelessness and a disability), transition age youth ages 18-24, homeless families with children, and veterans. Within these subpopulations:
- The number of individuals experiencing “chronic homelessness,” those who have been homeless for at least 12 months or on at least four separate occasions in the previous three years and who have one or more disabling conditions, rose from 606 to 730 (20%) over 2024. There is not enough specific data to verify the reason for this increase.
- The number of homeless veterans dropped considerably from 162 to 99 (-39%).
- More families (identified as having at least one adult over 18 with at least one child under 18) are experiencing homelessness, having risen from 57 to 78 (37%). Almost all families were found to be in sheltered settings in 2025. Shelter providers have noted that there has been an increase in families from immigrant communities.
- The number of homeless youth dropped from 151 to 115 (-24%) in 2025. The number of homeless youth consisted of 10 unaccompanied children (persons under the age of 18 without parents) and 105 transition-age youth ages 18–24. This reduction occurred despite the early 2024 closure of Social Advocates for Youth, terminating their homeless youth program. In 2024, the number of homelesss youth dropped 50% from 2023 numbers.
- 89% of individuals reported they became homeless while living in Sonoma County.
The comprehensive report (Attachment 1) has more information about causes of homelessness and other racial and ethnic data.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 1: Expand integrated system of care to address gaps in services to the County’s most vulnerable.
Objective: Objective 3: Create a “no wrong door” approach where clients who need services across multiple departments and programs are able to access the array of services needed regardless of where they enter the system.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
September 24, 2024 – Results of the 2024 “Point-in-Time” Count of Persons Experiencing Homelessness.
September 9, 2023 – Homelessness Program Updates, including Replacing the Emergency Shelter Site at the County Campus and Los Guilicos Village, Transfer of Grant Agreements, and Results of the 2023 “Point-in-Time” Count of Persons Experiencing Homelessness
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – 2025 Sonoma County Point-in-Time Count Report
Attachment 2 - Counts Over the Last Three Years
Attachment 3 – Presentation
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None