CARLSBAD — While the city has been successful in finding permanent housing for many people who have experienced homelessness, officials will look to make prevention a bigger part of the solution moving forward.
The city placed 148 residents into permanent housing in FY 2024-25, up from 89 the previous year, according to data presented by Chris Shilling, Carlsbad’s homeless services manager, at a Nov. 2 City Council meeting.
Various city-run programs also provided 224 temporary placements and cleaned up 56 encampments, according to the data. Overall, the city has provided services to 643 people, including 122 at-risk individuals who received preventive assistance.
Carlsbad Police Lt. Shaun Lawton added that the department’s Homeless Action Team has enabled issues related to the unhoused to be largely handled by a team of six officers and a sergeant – all of whom received specialized training.
Lawton said homelessness accounted for 3.6% of the department’s calls for service last year, and overall, CPD saw a 44% decrease in homeless-related calls.
Mayor Pro Tem Priya Bhat-Patel thanked officers and staff, noting that “the data shows that we’re making a difference” and that Carlsbad has “one of the most proactive and effective homeless response systems.”
Factoring in private and non-city programs, 165 people experiencing homelessness secured permanent housing in the last fiscal year. But in that same period, 191 people experienced homelessness for the first time, according to the data.
Due to the uptick in those experiencing homelessness for the first time, Shilling said that city staff recommended a “shift in the operational funding at the Carlsbad Service Center to focus on homeless prevention and diversion.”
Mayor Keith Blackburn said that while he believes the city’s efforts have been effective, increasing prevention funding makes sense given the trend.
“It seems like we’re one step forward, two steps back,” Blackburn said. “But at least we’re taking that one step forward.”
Councilmember Teresa Acosta said, “It is clear we are a leader” on the issue, but homelessness continues to rise due to macroeconomic pressures outside the council’s control.
Acosta noted that across the country, people are experiencing “the fact that life is getting more expensive.”
Bhat-Patel said city leaders must keep those trends in mind to remain proactive.
“Homelessness, we’re seeing it get exacerbated because of the cost of living — stagnant wages, behavioral health gaps,” she said. “Housing costs have outpaced what many families can manage.”
The city adopted a five-year Homelessness Action Plan in February 2023, and nearly all initiatives are either underway or completed, Shilling said.
Carlsbad budgeted more than $9.1 million for homelessness-reduction services in FY 2025-26, according to city documents. The projected FY 2026-27 budget is about $7.5 million, primarily due to changes in federal grant policy.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development currently provides just under $1.6 million to Carlsbad through its Continuum of Care Program. In 2024, HUD announced the funding would be for two years, extending into FY 2026-27, according to city documents.
However, city documents say that earlier this year, “HUD announced that it would no longer honor the two-year commitment and would instead make funding competitive for FY 2026-27.” That policy change accounts for most of the funding drop.
Carlsbad still anticipates receiving almost $3.5 million from various state and federal sources next fiscal year, according to city documents. Those include $81,823 from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program; $100,000 from a nationwide opioid-related settlement; more than $600,000 in state funding to address homelessness in the Carlsbad Village area; nearly $770,000 in state funding for people sleeping in their cars; and more than $1.7 million in a state grant to address homelessness along Route 78 and Buena Vista Creek in partnership with Oceanside.
Since its launch in April, the Oceanside partnership has led to 59 people moving into permanent housing as the encampment was cleared and has not repopulated, according to city documents.
The city also plans to spend nearly $3.9 million from the General Fund in the upcoming fiscal year, according to city documents.
