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Santa Barbara, CA—World Homeless Day is observed internationally on the 10th of October every year. The aim is to raise awareness about the needs of people who currently experience homelessness and promote work in local communities to address this crisis.
California is largely considered the epicenter of homelessness in the United States, with over a quarter of the county’s unhoused population residing in the Golden State. Currently, over 181,000 people in California are experiencing homelessness (source).
Santa Barbara County’s 2024 Point-in-Time Count shows that 2,119 people are experiencing homelessness across the county. Although the Point in Time Count has limitations in providing an accurate census, this does represent a 12% increase over the 2023 count of 1,887 (source).
This year, a coalition of providers has joined together to create a campaign aimed to educate South Santa Barabara community members about local homelessness issues, humanize our unhoused neighbors, and motivate individuals and groups to take action to address homelessness. The coalition includes SBACT, Santa Barbara Foundation, PATH Santa Barbara, City Net, Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, and the City of Goleta.
This coalition and people with lived experience of homelessness will be hosting a webinar, “Homelessness: It’s Not What You Think”, on Thursday, October 10th at 5:30pm. The virtual gathering will educate community members on actionable ways to address homelessness and will equip community members with facts and information to debunk myths about homelessness.
Registration for the webinar can be found here.
The webinar will also include a call to action to support our unhoused neighbors, as many people are unaware of the ways they can work to alleviate the local challenges around homelessness. Those who participate in the webinar will learn ways to discuss homelessness, how housing and homelessness will show up on the ballot this November, and we’ll provide a list of organizations to donate to and volunteer with.
Additionally, this collaborative is producing a video series, Everyone Has a Story: The Real Faces of Homelessness, which will feature the stories of local individuals experiencing homelessness. The videos, generally produced by Oscar Guiterez, will be available starting October 1st at www.sbact.org/whd.
Santa Barbara City Councilmember Oscar Guiterez shared, “Homelessness is the crisis of our time and everyone can be a part of the solutions. We must come together to support people experiencing homelessness, share their stories, and provide more housing and services to those in need. I appreciate that this coalition of community minded providers has come together to share the real stories of our unhoused neighbors.”
Several of the participating organizations are open to media opportunities related to World Homeless Day and ways to get involved. Organizations are open to stories about their missions, the people they serve, local challenges, and/or other human-interest stories. The following organizations are open to media opportunities before or on October 10th and a contact for each provider is listed below.
- SBACT
- About: SB ACT facilitates cross-sector coalitions to address homelessness and manages the FARO Center, a location where people experiencing homelessness can visit 5 days per week for assistance with housing navigation, employment assistance, and basic needs.
- Media Contact: Landon Ranck, landon@sbact.org
- Story idea(s): The FARO Center, SB’s new daytime center for people experiencing homelessness; ACT On Homelessness Collaborative building momentum across South Santa Barbara County
- PATH Santa Barbara
- About: PATH Santa Barbara provides interim housing and supportive services, including outreach, employment assistance, and housing navigation.
- Media Contact: Tyler Renner, TylerR@epath.org
- City Net Santa Barbara County
- About: City Net is committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness in the communities we serve by connecting neighbors experiencing homelessness to transformative care and innovative solutions that lead to housing.
- Media Contact: Al Ortiz, al.ortiz@citynet.org
- City of Goleta
- About: The City of Goleta has a multi-pronged Homelessness Strategic Plan that includes a by-name list of everyone experiencing homelessness in Goleta. In 2023, the City hired a full-time Homeless Services Coordinator.
- Media Contact: Chuck Flacks, cflacks@cityofgoleta.org