It’s Official: Homelessness Is Down, Slightly, in Pasadena

A multi-agency partnership has released a report on homelessness in Pasadena showing a decrease of 5% over last year and a cumulative decrease of 48% when compared to 2011’s count.

There were 582 adults and 50 children for a total of 632 sheltered and unsheltered persons who were counted as homeless during the point-in-time “City of Pasadena 2015 Homeless Count and Subpopulation Survey, the report said.

An analysis of the homeless in the count shows that the three largest categories of the homeless in Pasadena are people who are chronically homeless (176 of those counted), people with substance abuse problems (113 of those counted) and people with mental health problems (112 of those counted).

The number of young people under the age of 18 doubled this year to 8 — up from 4 last year.

The report is the result of a partnership between the City of Pasadena, City of Pasadena Housing Department, and the Pasadena Partnership to End Homelessness. It was coordinated and released by Urban Initiatives.

The report also pointed out that Pasadena, like many other largely populated cities, has a substantial number of households that are at-risk of homelessness.

In 2013, there were approximately 15,000 residents who were members of a household whose income was $15,000 a year or less, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of these households, approximately half (8,000 residents) were members of a household whose income was less than $10,000.

The Census Bureau also noted, in the 2013 American Community Survey, that 13 percent of Pasadena residents or approximately 18,000 residents lived below poverty level.

Many of these persons can become homeless because of social structural issues such as increases in rent, loss of job, and rising health care costs. In addition, personal experiences such as domestic violence, physical disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse can cause members of a low income household or an entire household to become homeless as well.

Often, one or more of these experiences factor into a household’s homeless experience.

The report may be read online by clicking here.