The growing disconnect between measurable reality and public perception was highlighted by the results of this year’s biennial homeless count, which reveals the number of homeless people throughout the city of Santa Barbara, has actually dropped over the past two years despite the dramatic increase in public discourse on the issue.
According to the most recent “Point-In-Time Count,” as it is officially known, the number of homeless people countywide has remained pretty much the same — 1,803 this year as opposed to 1,860 two years ago. But in the City of Santa Barbara — always the largest homeless population center — the recorded numbers dropped by 100, from 987 to 887.
Even if the total number of homeless people within Santa Barbara city limits is down, Allen said, the total number of unsheltered homeless could be up. That — coupled with this year’s freezing rains — might explain why it seems more homeless people have been chased by the elements from places of seclusion and isolation to freeway underpasses and more publicly visible places. In addition, an appeals court ruling issued last fall — known as the Boise Decision — has restricted the ability of law enforcement agencies to cite or arrest people for merely lying or sleeping in public spaces. Boise notwithstanding, police can and do stop people from erecting tents on public land or amassing more possessions than they can carry. Likewise, the city’s “sit-lie” ordinance allows police to cite for sitting or lying on public sidewalks on the first 13 blocks of State Street and the first block of East Haley Street.