Humboldt County Point-in-Time count shows decrease in local unsheltered population

EUREKA, Calif. — The Humboldt Housing and Homeless Coalition released their 2022 Point-in-Time (PIT) count showing a decrease in the number of unsheltered people counted.

According to the agency, approximately 1,309 unsheltered people were counted in Humboldt County during the January 2022 PIT count, in addition to 347 sheltered people. The figure is down from the last time a PIT count took place back in 2019 with 1,402 unhoused people counted.

The 2022 count showed the largest number of unsheltered people living in the greater Eureka area, followed by the greater Arcata area.

The PIT count takes place every two years and is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data is used by the state of California to allocate funding to counties for addressing homelessness and housing. The 2021 count was canceled due to the pandemic.

“The California legislature continues to base homelessness funding formulas on the number of people experiencing homelessness in each county as identified in the PIT data. This count is a critical source of data on the number and characteristics of people who are experiencing homelessness in Humboldt County. The data we collected will help local, state and federal policy makers understand the nature and extent of homelessness in our community,"Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services Housing and Assistance Coordinator Robert Ward said.

You can view the 2022 Point-in-Time Count Summary from the Humboldt Housing and Homeless Coalition here.