Homeless count

The Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) has released its 2019 Homeless Point-in-Time Survey results, finding a 16 percent increase in local homeless individuals over 2017’s count. The CoC identified 2,304 sheltered, unsheltered and Federal Emergency Management Agency-housed homeless adults and children during its federally mandated biennial count on March 28, which was up from 1,983 in 2017. The hike was attributed to the Camp Fire, but the CoC stressed the number is only an estimate, and several factors, including poor weather on the day, likely affected the quality of the results. Nevertheless, respondents reported natural disaster, family crises and financial factors as the top reasons for becoming homeless. A total of 933 people were sheltered with FEMA support. Seventy-one percent of unsheltered respondents said they were living in Butte County when they became homeless. Eleven percent said they were living outside Butte County, and 18 percent declined to answer. Go to buttehomelesscoc.com to read the full report.