Riverside and San Bernardino counties are reporting progress in efforts to address homelessness, according to newly released data from their point-in-time counts. But officials say more work remains.
Riverside County’s overall homeless population grew by 7%, reaching nearly 4,000 people. However, officials there say unsheltered homelessness dropped by 19% as the county expanded shelter beds by 57% and increased access to health and behavioral services.
In San Bernardino County, officials report a drop in homelessness, with data showing that the number of homeless people is now at 3,821, a 14% decrease from 2024. Officials cite expanded outreach and $22 million dollars in new housing grants as the driving factor.
“The data from this year is encouraging because it shows that our efforts are making a difference,” said San Bernardino County Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. in a news release. “Although our work is far from over, I’m glad to see progress in reducing homelessness.”
Tanya Torno – the deputy director for housing and workforce solutions for Riverside County – says that despite Riverside County's increase in total homeless people, they’re seeing more people connect to housing.
“We see over 18,300 people who come through our system, and of those people, in one year, we’ve connected 7,300 to housing,” said Torno. “Again, while we're very proud of the 19% and the unsheltered reduction, we know that the number across the 12 month period is far larger. I want the community to know that we are tracking that.”
Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a press release that more shelter options have helped keep the city’s unsheltered population steady at around 600 people in the last two years.
“These data clearly show that our efforts are having a real impact, and we're moving in the right direction,” Lock Dawson said. “In recent years, with every new homeless count, we saw significant increases, but this year's numbers show that the population of unsheltered individuals in Riverside has stabilized.”
Cities and counties in the Inland Empire, however, may now have to address homelessness without any new state funding support. Governor Gavin Newsom decided not to provide any new funding for local governments to combat the issue in his revised budget plan, despite it being a top priority for local governments across California.
