CARLSBAD — The city has seen significant progress in finding shelter for those experiencing homelessness in Carlsbad, particularly for veterans, according to a yearly update on the city’s Homeless Action Plan.
This year, the city started using a new data source, referred to as a by-name list, that offers real-time tracking of individuals using housing services, including their name and demographic information. The data source identified 15 veteran households in the city.
A point-in-time count in January 2022 found 118 homeless individuals residing in Carlsbad.
According to the by-name list, Carlsbad had a 73% reduction in the number of veteran households experiencing homelessness from June 2022 to June 2023, from 15 to four households. Eleven of these veteran households transitioned into permanent housing, and four found temporary shelter.
“When I started on the council three years ago, this was our top priority as a council. We just really wanted to work on this and do whatever we could to be flexible, change our model and make progress,” Councilmember Teresa Acosta said at the council’s Nov. 14 meeting. “And it has been working, so I’m so grateful. And it’s not because the council made that decision, but because you’re working so hard at it every day.”
Data showed the programs’ wrap-around approach has been effective.
The point-in-time count — a number collected by driving around the city and counting those unsheltered on a particular night — showed a 20% decrease this year compared to last year’s count.
City-funded programs reported interacting with 565 people from July 2022 to June 2023, compared to 749 people the previous year, representing a 25% decrease. This year, these programs helped transition 105 households into permanent housing and helped another 75 households with preventative services.
In addition to veterans, the city focused on unhoused youth, especially K-12 students.
At the end of the 2022-23 school year, 75 total enrolled students in Carlsbad Unified School District were classified as homeless, including 47 students in secondary school and 28 elementary school students.
By the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, the number of homeless students was reduced by half. The district reported that it has a total of 37 enrolled students classified as homeless, 20 in secondary school and 17 in elementary school.
“When you think about adults being homeless and wrecking their lives for whatever reason, that’s one thing, but when you’ve got children that are experiencing that, it just makes your heartbreak even worse,” Councilmember Melanie Burkholder said.
One of the notable success stories concerned a 43-year-old woman named Beth, who had been working part-time at a fast-food restaurant but sleeping outside because she couldn’t afford permanent housing. She was referred to the Community Resource Center’s employment and benefits program.
The employment specialist helped her update her resume and prepare for job interviews, allowing Beth to secure a full-time job with higher pay. The program then used flexible funds to place her in a motel room while she settled into her new position before helping her find an affordable room to rent.
Since then, Beth has been promoted twice at her job and is now a shift leader.
“We’ve been fortunate to be able to increase the amount of services available for people experiencing homelessness because of a lot of the grants that we’re able to secure,” said Mandy Mills, Carlsbad’s housing and homeless services director. “So we have more services available to do that wraparound type service.”
The city plans to continue using grant funding to expand homeless services next year, including settlement funds from nationwide opioid litigation.
Staff recommended the majority of the anticipated $80,000 in settlement funds for substance abuse outreach and education. The city will start accepting proposals from organizations early next year in hopes of starting programming in July 2024.
The city also hopes to find more shelter beds for women and children. A proposed expansion of a shelter at La Posada de Guadalupe was estimated to be more expensive than anticipated. Currently, half the available shelter beds are reserved for migrant farm workers, but city staff said the supply of beds outpaces the need.
“Maybe it’s a priority as opposed to a requirement because a number of those beds go unutilized and it’s a shame to see empty beds when people are on the street and in their car wanting shelter,” Mills said.
Haven House in Escondido, which had the only low-barrier beds for single women in North County, relocated to the Turk Recuperative Care Center, resulting in a net loss of 49 beds in North County.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the city had found housing for 15 veterans in the city. The city reported a 73% reduction in the number of veteran households experiencing homelessness from June 2022 to June 2023, according to a new data course. We sincerely regret the error.
