An annual survey of homelessness in Contra Costa County found significantly more residents without housing in 2022 than three years ago, underscoring a severe shortage of affordable housing and the collateral impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the community.
During the three years since its 2019 homeless point-in-time count, Contra Costa Health (CCH) and community partners have added hundreds of shelter beds across the county – a 30% increase – including the 172-room Delta Landing interim housing center in Pittsburg, one of the first projects completed through the state’s Homekey program.
The county’s 2022 point-in-time count, meanwhile, estimates that 3,093 people are staying in shelter beds or living outdoors on an average night in Contra Costa, compared to 2,295 in 2019.
Renters in Contra Costa needed to earn $37.54 hourly to properly afford the county’s average asking rent of $1,952, according to a May 2021 report from California Housing Partnership, which also estimated an affordable housing shortfall of more than 27,000 units in the county compared to need.
Eviction moratoriums helped some residents remain housed during the pandemic, but COVID-19 disrupted work for many residents.
Documentation of the county’s increase in homelessness comes by way of the biennial point-in-time count, a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development for jurisdictions receiving funding for homeless services.
Each jurisdiction must conduct a study of community homelessness every two years, though Contra Costa usually performs an annual count. The data inform funding as well as local strategy for reducing homelessness. No counts were held in the Bay Area in 2021 because of the pandemic.
I call BS on this… STATISTICS LIE.
The vast majority of those that are chronically homeless have mental or drug addiction issues….That’s a FACT.
Claims “statistics lie.”
Follows up that statement with the phrase “the vast majority.”
Homelessness is a lifestyle choice. Give them nothing. I am sick of the filth and crime that they bring.
Simple test solution.
Cut off all the drug supply in the county and see how many homeless immediately leave the county.
How about placing drug sniffing dogs at all BART stations in our county too?
This would be a great test case for the whole nation. It won’t happen because all our “community partners” would loose their funding.
+1
I agree. Why does Concord put up with this crap? It just grows and grows. We are starting to look like Oakland. Vote for better leadership.
Why don’t you Bureaucrats just buy them all a home in Blackhawk pay all there bills and call it good.This crap is ridiculous they don’t want help.They like being homeless with no responsibility.
Democrats are the cause feral population explosion since 2014, with the passage of Prop 47 & 57 and AB 109 in 2011. They all negate Prop 36 and Felony Alternative Drug Court (FADS) Prop 36 passed on 2000, and it was mandatory drug treatment for drug offenses vs jail time for misdemeanor offenses FADS court did the same thing for felony offenses.
Prop 47 decriminalized drug offenses and thus no arrests and no treatment. Now drug addicts living on the streets stealing and committing auto burglary because those crimes are legal now.
Thanks Democrats.
Well this should fix everything.
Yeah. Let’s toss them more free stuff then wonder why there’s more of them.
There are over 5 million foreign born just from south of the border in California. Twenty six percent of California are foreign born from all over. They are not the homeless. Figure it out. Why is my rent so high? It trickles all the way up to the price of a home. And you thought it was the weather.
They’re saying you need to make $78,000/year to afford a $2,000/month apartment? BS.
You need to make $78,000/year to afford a $2,000/month apartment if you also pay a $750/month car lease, spend $200/month on TV and streaming services, order $50 charcuterie boards with your $10 IPA, eat out 7 days-a-week, buy a $1,200 cell phone every year, …
The idea of doing without and making do is anathema to some people.
You don’t math much, do you?
That’s $78k so 22% federal tax bracket ($17,160)
Those pesky state and Medicare taxes, another 10%, but let’s call it ($6,000) to keep it even
Now that ($24,000) a year for rent
Car and insurance, a modest $400 a month for both, so ($4,800) a year
Gotta stay alive to work most of our life, $200 a month for medical insurance is ($2,400) a year
Have you SEEN how much gas is? $250 a month just to get to work ($3,000)
Oh man, I’m hungry, food be expensive. $400 a month, that’s another ($4,800) a year
Ok, I’m losing count because now I’m probably in debt. I haven’t paid my student loan, masters program, credit card bills, bought clothing or had that delicious IPA I was promised in the comment above. Can I have your Netflix password? What’s a Roth or a vanguard index fund?
What did they expect? Gavin Newsome released thousands of inmates with nowhere to go. Typical Democrat behavior, create a problem, throw more money at it, and convince their naive voters they are doing something positive for the community.
Why not get them a bus ticket back to where they came from originally. Last known city and state that they had a address in. With all these freebies for them I’m sure a lot of them came from other areas to take advantage of it
$37.54 an hour?
There are a great many people living on a lot less than that in this county. And they don’t receive welfare.
The problem is that the government keeps giving away more free stuff and more people keep taking it and wanting more.
The county, and government overall, is more interested in getting votes than solving the homeless issue.
There is a rumor that Newsum has a $97bil. surplus.
I think that might help.
Rebecca Parson, a self-described Democratic Socialist running for congress in Washington state, says if she wins she will encourage one million people across the country to break into any empty homes and occupy them to force legislation for better equity in housing ownership. So, basically open revolution. And you wonder how Biden still has a 73% approval rating among Democrats.
Moving the problem behind closed doors does not solve the issue. The vast majority of the homeless I encounter while bicycle riding or walking are alcoholics, drug addicted and/ or mentally ill people. How about spending the resources to take care of the root of the problem and not just move it from point A to point B. Too many do-gooders are breaking their arms patting themselves on the back but they haven’t helped really helped anybody.
The current approach is nothing more than a money pit that will solve nothing but will ultimately create more problems for us all.
Here is an inexpensive solution: Provide them a hot shower, a hot meal, a shave/haircut, and a bus ticket to Portland.
Newsom prefers spending billions to hide them in hotel rooms, give them clean needles, and a pre-populated ballot for harvesting.
California is corrupt. But hey, you want nice weather, apparently the fee is corruption.
Wow when you give stuff away for free and look the other way when they commit crimes it’s no surprise there’s an increase. Do people also leave their door open and cheese on the floor and wonder why they have more mice then usual?
+1
You mean meth and fentanyl laced heroin
Build it and they will come.
Remember when there was very few homeless. We put them in jail and took away their drugs and put the mentally ill in hospitals. It worked.