Riverside County sees drop in unsheltered homeless

For the first time in six years, Riverside County has recorded a decrease in unsheltered homeless persons.

That number dropped eight percent compared with 2020 in this year’s point-in-time count, which was conducted in February, according to a statement on the county’s website.

Riverside County officials are attributing the decline to nearly $200 million in COVID-19 relief funding. The county used that money to help 26,665 households remain sheltered during the pandemic.

County officials also identified a total of 3,316 sheltered and unsheltered homeless adults and children in the county, 15 percent higher than the 2,884 recorded in 2020.

The count was conducted in February. Six hundred and twenty five volunteers spread out across the county to interview unsheltered individuals and families.

Besides the interviews, volunteers offered homelessness residents services, including housing, animal services, medical services, or help obtaining documents, according to the statement.