More than 1,000 new people became homeless in the Fresno-area last year - before COVID-19

About 1,133 more people are homeless in Fresno and Madera this year, a 45% spike from 2019, according to new numbers announced on Wednesday.

Total homelessness in Fresno and Madera grew from 2,508 people in 2019 to 3,641 people in 2020, according to results from January’s point-in-time count — three months before the coronavirus pandemic hit the central San Joaquin Valley and devastated the national economy.

Speaking Wednesday during an online news conference, officials acknowledged the homeless population will likely grow but were also quick to point out some successes, including a record number of sheltered individuals.

“Homelessness continues to be the most concerning issue in California. Virtually every city continues to see growing numbers,” Mayor Lee Brand said. ”But there is a silver lining to these dark clouds, as the number of homeless individuals that have been placed in shelters and housing in Fresno has increased by 150% over the last year.”

The sheltered population in Fresno grew from 334 people in 2019 to 836 in 2020. Officials expect that number is now a lot higher, thanks to hundreds of new beds made available during the COVID-19 crisis.

Advocates, however, said there is little to celebrate.

“This is this is the third year in a row of increases and, with COVID-19, what’s going to happen next January?” said local community activist Mike Rhodes. “The numbers are going to be off the charts.”

Why do Fresno’s homeless numbers keeping rising?

Laura Moreno, director of the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care, said many factors contribute to rising homelessness numbers, including more accurate counting strategies. In January, Fresno had the highest number of volunteers counting people sleeping on the streets.

She also cited increases in drug and alcohol abuse, rising formal and informal evictions, and high living costs.

“Fresno used to be a place that was much more affordable,” Moreno told The Bee. “It’s not so these days.”

She expects to see a lot more homelessness this year as people lose their jobs and fall behind on rent during the pandemic.

“We are going to see a flood of people who may end up getting evicted because they haven’t paid their rent,” she said. “If you have a $900 rental cost, what is $2,700 going look like?”

The city has made available rent relief funds, but it will not be enough to prevent the onslaught of homelessness, Moreno said.

“We’ve already been thinking about how we address that. We’re not in the point yet where we have a solution,” she added.

Rhodes said Fresno needs to increase its affordable housing supply, but acknowledged officials couldn’t simply “snap their fingers.” In the meantime, he suggests a change in the immediate homeless strategy.

“Whatever is being done in homelessness right now is not working,” he said. “I think that defunding the homeless task force would be a good start. Stop spending public money on things that make homeless people’s lives more difficult and isn’t working. Why don’t we invest that money in social service providers who can help them get off the streets?”

More shelters

In June 2019, Fresno city and county added 185 shelter beds, which led to the rise in the number of sheltered homeless people.

According to continuum of care data, local shelters served over 3,500 people over the last year, with 1,284 people exiting into permanent housing.

During coronavirus pandemic, the city and county steadily increased their shelter beds supply using emergency state funds. Moreno said there are now 460 new beds in Fresno and Madera, which are constantly at or near capacity.

The county and city hope to bring on more beds by applying to the state’s Project Homekey, a proposal to buy up hotels and motels and convert them to shelters and affordable housing. Fresno officials applied to the funding in early August.

The county applied for $13.5 million to build 150 permanent affordable housing units, and the Fresno Housing Authority applied for $19.3 million to provide homeless response housing and then build 139 permanent affordable housing units in four motels.

“We have this great opportunity now because of COVID, because of the additional dollars, because of folks coming in for whatever reason, we have this great opportunity to really hit these numbers hard this year,” Moreno told The Bee. “This is our year to make a really big dent.”