Most Marin Homeless Residents Were Once Housed In Marin: Study

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The vast majority of Marin’s homeless residents lived in the county before losing their housing.

That’s among the key findings county officials have gleaned from a newly released county-commissioned study.

According to the Point in Time Count study, 78 percent of Marin residents experiencing homelessness locally were Marin residents prior to losing housing.

That’s up from 73 percent from the previous study in 2019.

The study – mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development every two years for all U.S. communities receiving federal homelessness funding – links Marin’s homeless crisis to its affordability crisis.

The study notes that fair-market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Marin is $2,631 and the maximum Supplemental Security Income payment for a disabled individual is $1,040. To afford a one-bedroom apartment in Marin, household members need to earn approximately $95,000 per year.

Marin’s total homeless population grew by 8.5 percent in 2022 compared with the most recent count in 2019, the study said.

Marin, one of the nation’s most expensive counties based on real estate and rental property statistics, had 1,121 people without a steady and reliable location to call home on February 17, the day teams fanned out to gather data.

Although the total is up from 1,034 two years earlier, the 8.5 percent increase is lower than the statewide increase of 13.5 percent over the same period.

“While we’re disappointed with the increased numbers despite all our efforts, we’re not surprised,” Board of Supervisors President Katie Rice said in a statement.

“Rising rents, a slow climb out of the pandemic, and growing demand for housing without adding to the supply combine to price people out of housing and into homelessness. We must do more to protect existing affordable housing in addition to creating more or our numbers will keep rising.”

More facts from Point in Time Count analysis include:

People experiencing homelessness most often need rental assistance (77%) and/or more affordable housing (61%) to get housed on their own.]

31% reported experiencing homelessness despite being employed.

People experiencing homelessness are most likely to be living in vehicles (41%) or emergency shelters or transitional housing (combined 26%), reinforcing that homelessness is not confined to what residents see on streets or encampments.

The Black/African American population, which is 2.4% of Marin’s population, is severely overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness, and this inequity is increasing (22% in 2022 from 17% in 2019).

All but two of Marin’s municipalities had unhoused individuals observed during the Point in Time Count. Increases since the last count were observed in Fairfax, San Rafael, Mill Valley, and Sausalito due to an increase in visible encampments, those living in vehicles, and individuals seeking to access needed services during the pandemic.

“Since 2017 and with renewed intensity through the pandemic, Marin HHS and its partners at local nonprofit agencies and nearby jurisdictions have collaborated to place the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in stable supportive housing, changing over 500 lives in the process,” said Gary Naja-Riese, Director of Marin HHS’ Homelessness and Whole Person Care Division. As of October 31, the number was 550, and 95 percent of those people are still housed.

The County was recently awarded $2 million in state surplus funding through the efforts of State Senator Mike McGuire to support local efforts in Sausalito, San Rafael, Novato, and unincorporated Marin. The County has committed to matching $500,000 for a total of $1 million to each of the three cities to implement strategies that are in alignment with Housing First approaches.

This high housing retention rate supports Marin’s Housing First approach to ensure people have a safe place to live to address their needs.

Marin HHS’ Carrie Sager, who oversees the County’s Coordinated Entry system, said those reporting homelessness of one year or more dropped significantly (70 percent to 61 percent). “That’s another positive sign and demonstrates that the Housing First efforts to help those most in need are working,” she said.

Sager added that through the efforts of the Continuum of Care, the County has accelerated by 56 percent the rate at which individuals with long periods of homelessness are being housed in supportive housing since the pandemic began, with an average of 11 clients finding a home each month.