Santa Barbara County Sees 60% Drop in Veteran Homelessness
With increased housing costs, rising inflation and the end of eviction moratoriums, many regions across California are experiencing increases in homelessness, both among Veterans and the general population.
However, in Santa Barbara County, one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S., Veteran homelessness has dropped 60% over the last three years.
According to the most recent Point-in-Time (PIT) count, which records the number of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, 82 Veterans were experiencing homelessness in Santa Barbara County in 2023. In 2020 that number was 210.
This progress was contributed to through the collaboration of VA staff, county and city employees, local housing authorities and numerous partners working together to find homes for Veterans in need. According to those involved, community collaboration is the key to helping Veterans off the streets and into permanent housing.
The powerful lessons of teamwork and partnership learned in this Southern California county are those that can be applied everywhere.
From RV Homelessness to a Room with a View
One of the individuals who’s been helped by these efforts is Army Veteran William Wesley.
Enlisting at the age of 17, Wesley was eager to serve his country. He worked as a camera operator and was part of an elite team recording, editing, and writing reports. And while he learned a lot through his experience in the service, he unfortunately emerged with PTSD.
“From time to time the PTSD derailed my personal and professional life,” Wesley said. That coupled with housing in Southern California becoming more expensive – and scarce – he eventually fell into homelessness.
With what money he had left he bought an RV to live in, parking it wherever he could and surviving day-to-day.
“About a year ago I heard about the HUD-VASH program,” Wesley said. “That’s where I found my guardian angels.”
HUD-VASH is a partnership between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and VA. HUD provides housing vouchers that cover a significant portion of a Veteran’s rent while VA offers supportive services. Wesley credits Senior Social Worker Kimiko Cohn and Housing Management Assistant Elena Cavalier for helping him on his housing journey.
Now, Wesley lives in Santa Barbara in a beautiful apartment with mountain views. At first, he almost couldn’t believe it was real. But talking to his social workers helped him acclimate.
“It’s now been six months since I’ve been here and I’ve gotten used to the idea that I actually live someplace, a place I can call home, not on the streets,” Wesley said.
Working Together to House Veterans
The key to housing Veterans in Santa Barbara is teamwork, Tameka N. Davis, a licensed clinical social worker, Navy Veteran and VA’s HUD-VASH supervisor for Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, said.
“We as the HUD-VASH team could not do this by ourselves,” she said. “We have a lot of partners within the community that serve Veterans. We could not do our jobs without them, hands down.”
The HUD-VASH team’s community partners include the county and city of Santa Barbara, public housing authorities, and several nonprofits.
A key element of this collective effort is case conferencing. In these meetings, held every two weeks, county housing personnel, VA staff and other entities discuss individual Veterans’ situations to find solutions. (A medical release from each Veteran allows the groups to discuss these cases collectively.)
“It’s truly looking at the names, problem-solving, barrier-busting on an individual basis,” County of Santa Barbara Homelessness Assistance Program Manager Kimberlee Albers said about the process.
Step by Step into Housing
The county keeps track of Veterans using what’s called the by-name list, which tracks individual Veterans on a real-time basis. Once a Veteran is identified as experiencing homelessness, they go onto the list.
While the PIT count is one measure of tracking Veteran homelessness, the by-name list is another, and the county is seeing a reduction in those numbers as well, County of Santa Barbara Housing Programs Specialist Sr. Emily Allen said. As of the last count in mid-August 2023, 84 Veterans were on the by-name list for Santa Barbara County.
“We’re looking at it very much on a daily basis,” Allen said.
Once an unhoused Veteran is identified, the county refers them to VA services, either Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) or HUD-VASH.
Next, the Veteran is assigned a case manager. If the Veteran is ready for permanent supportive housing, the HUD-VASH housing management assistant helps the Veteran complete the voucher packet.
From there the team works with the Veteran to fill out the necessary paperwork and secure their preferred housing. Once the Veteran is housed, the case manager focuses on wraparound mental health and medical care.
Davis has been with the HUD-VASH program for five years. Previously she worked with girls and women who had some form of severe trauma. She understands a Veteran’s journey firsthand.
“Being a Veteran I kind of know the feeling when you just don’t feel as though you matter,” said Davis. “I’ve experienced homelessness too; that just makes it (the feeling) that much worse.”
Housing Help and Beyond
Housing is just the first step in the process. “It’s not just about putting a person in a house; it’s helping our Veterans gain the skills and have the support to stay housed,” Davis said.
The HUD-VASH team is comprised of many different members to address the unique circumstances of its Veteran population. This includes social workers, peer support specialists, a housing management assistant, a nurse, and an occupational therapist.
“It is so rewarding to see Veterans who have lost faith in the system regain that faith, regain their dignity,” Davis said.
“We are making real progress in the fight to end Veteran homelessness, but even one Veteran experiencing homelessness is one too many,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “We will not rest until every Veteran has a safe, stable place to call home in this country they fought to defend.”
Community Is Key
Housing Veterans is a community-wide effort, Davis said.
“These are people who may have made mistakes in the past that affected their credit or legal histories, but we need our community members to be welcoming and to be understanding – to not have that ‘not in my backyard’ mentality,” Davis said. Landlords, especially, are needed to accept HUD-VASH vouchers.
Wesley echoes the idea that this is a group effort. “It takes a village to help you sometimes. I’m eternally grateful for all who took me from homeless to a place I can call home.”