Hundreds to count Sacramento’s homeless population next month, with one significant change
Hundreds of volunteers will spread across Sacramento County next month to determine how much the homeless population has changed in the last two years.
On the nights of Jan. 24 and 25, the federally-mandated point-in-time count will again be conducted by homeless nonprofit Sacramento Steps Forward. But there will be one significant change this year — Sacramento State will not be involved.
Because the count is federally funded, SSF is required to periodically seek bids from entities to conduct the research. Through that process, entities must provide an estimate they would charge to do the work.
“In response to the (request for proposals), Simtech Solutions, Inc., submitted the strongest proposal,” said Kim Winters of Sacramento Steps Forward. “This proposal was vetted by a review panel of using objective scoring criteria and an interview panel.”
Simtech Solutions in 2012 created an app to count unhoused people for the point-in-time counts, which has been used in cities in 13 states, including San Diego, where the company is based, according to its website.
Sacramento State, which had been the researcher on the point-in-time count since 2017, submitted a bid do the new count, but SSF did not select it, said Lisa Bates, SSF’s CEO.
Another key difference this year is that the count will use US Census tracts instead of custom-drawn zones, Winters said. This will allow the results to be compared to the 2020 count.
“This comparison will be instrumental in identifying at the neighborhood level any race, gender, or age categories that are over-represented in the homeless population,” Winters said in an email. “Our post-count analysis will assess whether and how this year’s PIT results differ from previous PIT results.”
Importantly, the methodology for new results will also be comparable to the last count, which was conducted on two nights in February 2022, Winters said.
The February 2022 count determined that there were roughly 9,300 homeless people living in Sacramento County on any given night — for the first time surpassing San Francisco (though not per capita). That included about 6,600 who were sleeping outdoors, in tents or vehicles, according to a 106-page in-depth report Sacramento State produced in July 2022.
The city and county have roughly 2,220 shelter beds, all of which are typically full on any given night.
The result of the new county will partly determine whether Sacramento receives additional federal funding to address homelessness.
The new census number, and report will be released in April or May, Winters said.
To sign up to volunteer, visit www.sacramento24.pointintime.info.
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The city and county have roughly 2,220 shelter beds. The number of beds provided in an earlier version of the story was incorrect.
