Pasadena Completes Main Part of Annual Homeless Count

Despite the inclement weather on Tuesday, the city completed its annual homeless count on time on Wednesday morning.

“The main components of the homeless count went smoothly and safely last night and early this morning,” said Jennifer O’Reilly-Jones on Wednesday morning. “It was quite cold and damp, especially this morning, and our volunteers distributed hats, gloves, and hand warmers. A few volunteers did report that their zones were quiet, possibly due to the weather, but it is really too soon to tell if we will see any significant changes in the data compared to prior years.” 

The count continued until 5 p.m. on Wednesday when the supplemental Youth Count which focuses on young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 was completed. 

The homeless count collects data from people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered and sheltered locations during the annual Point-in-Time Count within the last 10 days of January as mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The data collected during the count serves as a snapshot of what homelessness in Pasadena looks like on a single night. 

It is the primary data source the City uses to inform its strategic planning for homeless services, although not the only data source. 

This year’s count was delayed due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning teams of volunteers went out to make contact with people experiencing homelessness.

“Pasadena is an amazing City but will never be the City we truly aspire to be said Vice Mayor Andy Wilson, “When hundreds live without homes on our streets,” Wilson told Pasadena Now on Wednesday morning. 

“As an elected official and a person of faith, I feel compelled to lead in this area.  The City has significantly added to programs and services while supporting the construction of more affordable housing.  By personally participating in the annual homeless count, I am better able to humanize this challenge versus just looking at numbers in a spreadsheet.  My wife Liz and I are often surprised how many are long term Pasadena residents who have fallen on hard times.  Besides collecting valuable data for the City and County, these experiences serve to strengthen our resolve to seek better solutions to this seemingly intractable problem.”

On the night of the 2020 Homeless Count, from January 21 to 22, there were a total of 527 people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena, nearly identical to the 542 people recorded in 2019. 

The count was canceled in 2021 due to the COVI-19 pandemic. 

To collect the figures for the “unsheltered” count, community volunteers and professional outreach teams survey people sleeping outdoors, on the street, in parks and vehicles, and other areas. 

The “sheltered” count uses client-level data entered into the database used by homeless service providers to collect information on people who are staying in temporary shelter locations, including congregate emergency shelters, transitional housing, and hotels or motels. 

People who are living on couches or staying with family or friends doubled are not included in the count, and are instead considered to be at-risk of homelessness and not literally homeless.