Santa Paula’s 53 homeless counted in January — an effort overseen in Santa Paula and Fillmore by Kay Wilson-Bolton and SPIRIT of Santa Paula — was almost three times as many homeless persons counted in 2015, when 20 people interviewed said they were unsheltered without a home to call their own.

Oxnard and Ventura remain the cities with the highest number of homeless.

During the January 26 count — this year from dawn until late morning — it was found that 66 percent or 35 of Santa Paula’s homeless were men and 34 percent or 18 were women. ?None of those counted locally reported being transgender.

Twenty-three percent or 12 stated they were White and 77 percent or 41 did not have a recorded answer. 

There was one homeless family with three children and 23 of those surveyed — or 43 percent — reported they were chronically homeless individuals.

Eight, or 15 percent, reported they had a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart trouble, high blood pressure, seizures, hepatitis, respiratory problems, epilepsy, tuberculosis or arthritis.

One person or 2 percent reported they had been diagnosed with AIDS or had tested positive for HIV.

Twelve or 23 percent reported they had a physical disability, 9 percent or 5 reported they had a developmental disability and 30 percent or 16 reported they had a mental health problem.

Forty-seven percent or 25 reported they had a problem with drugs or alcohol and 13 percent or 7 reported they had been the victims of domestic or intimate partner violence. 

Two or 4 percent were youth ages 18 to 24 and 3 or 6 percent were unaccompanied youth under age 18. 

Eight percent or 8 were age 62 and above.

The count found there were 13 persons or 24 percent that reported they had been released from a correctional institute such as a jail or prison after serving a court-ordered sentence during the past 12 months.

In all, there were 1,271 adults and children who were homeless during the point-in-time count according to the Ventura County 2016 Homeless Count, a 10 percent decrease when compared to the number of homeless persons counted last year, 1,417. 

The January 2016 count of 1,271 persons the lowest total count since 2007, the first year the annual count was conducted.

The cities of Oxnard and Ventura account for more than two-thirds (69.5 percent) of the homeless population (584 persons representing 45.9 percent and 300 persons representing 23.6 percent, respectively). 

The City of Thousand Oaks — a city with one of the highest household incomes in the county — had the third highest population of homeless (104 persons representing 8.2 percent) followed by the City of Simi Valley (99 persons representing 7.8 percent). 

Thousand Oaks was the only other city to have an increase in homeless, from 83 counted in 2015 to 104 counted in January.

HUD’s definition of chronic homelessness includes persons living in emergency shelters and/or on the streets or in abandoned buildings for the past year or more, and/or persons living in an emergency shelter and/or on the streets or in abandoned buildings four times or more during the last three years. 

In addition, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the person must have a disabling condition, which for the purposes of the annual count included mental health problems, drug or alcohol problem, physical disability, developmental disability, and/or HIV/AIDS. 

?HUD does not consider persons who are “doubled up,” for housing or those who are “near homelessness” as homeless, but does recognize the risk of becoming homeless. 

Each year the HUD survey determines funding allocation for homeless programs and housing grants, among others.