Below is the press release from the City of Santa Monica on the “point in time” homeless count from earlier this year. The Daily Press notes in its coverage that despite the rosy language, homelessness is up slightly when including people living in their cars.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, has released the 2025 data for the point in time count conducted in the city of Santa Monica, showing progress toward the city’s goal of moving people off the streets, into shelter and out of homelessness.
This year’s data indicates that the number of unhoused individuals moving into shelters in Santa Monica increased from last year, with a slight decrease in people living on the streets and in makeshift shelters outdoors. In total, the LAHSA survey identified 202 people living in shelters, compared with 173 in 2024, while the unsheltered population decreased to 475 people, down by four.
This result reflects the city’s goals and efforts centered around helping unhoused Santa Monicans move into shelters and interim housing. Further, the increase of individuals living in shelters is attributable to the city’s partnership with the county of Los Angeles’ encampment resolution effort, Pathway Home, which added 25 transitional shelter beds in Santa Monica.
Another example of success in getting people off city streets is the longstanding city funded program Project Homecoming. Since its inception in 2006, the city’s Project Homecoming has reunited over 3,200 individuals who were experiencing homelessness within the city of Santa Monica with their community of support, which includes safely reconnecting them with family and friends living elsewhere.
LAHSA’s 2025 Homeless Count results for the region showed an overall reduction of people experiencing homelessness in Service Planning Area 5 (which includes Santa Monica, as well as Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Culver City, Ladera, Malibu, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Palms, Playa del Rey, West LA, Westchester and Westwood), reflecting lower unhoused individuals overall year over year since 2023.
Namely, the data for Service Planning Area 5 showed a decrease of 21 percent since 2023, with 5,265 individuals in 2025, down from 5,383 in 2024 and 6,669 in 2023.
In Santa Monica, coordination with the city and county of Los Angeles and other regional partners has led to positive results. The city, in line with the recently adopted Homelessness Strategic Plan, will continue to implement strategies to address the housing and homelessness crises.
This year’s count showed more people living in cars/RVs within the city of Santa Monica compared to 2024. Outreach teams in Santa Monica continue to connect individuals to safe parking programs in Culver City and the greater Los Angeles area. Moving forward, the city will further assess policy and program shifts to ensure this population of individuals receives the necessary support and resources.
In all, LAHSA’s 2025 Homeless Count data showed a total of 812 people living in homelessness in Santa Monica, including sheltered, unsheltered and those living in improvised dwellings such as cars, vans and other makeshift shelters. This compares to a total of 774 individuals documented in the 2024 Point in Time Count.
The 2025 data includes:
- 475 people living outdoors (including at city beaches), a decrease of 4 individuals from 2024’s count
- 20 tents and 31 makeshift shelters were counted, a decrease of one tent and 9 makeshift shelters
- 84 cars, vans, and RVs as improvised dwellings, an increase of 21 vehicles from 2024’s count
- 202 unhoused individuals living in shelters indoors, up by 29
“Seeing an increase of unhoused individuals moving indoors reflects the progress of our efforts,” Director of Housing and Human Services Heather Averick said. “With our new Homelessness Strategic Plan as a guide, and continued local and regional investments and collaboration, we will remain nimble and flexible, using data to make shifts in programming as needed. We remain optimistic that we will continue to see more unhoused Santa Monicans transition from the streets indoors to stable housing.”
Santa Monica’s efforts
For decades, Santa Monica has been a leader in homelessness prevention, the creation of affordable housing, and offering homelessness outreach and case management services. Recent efforts include:
- Debuting its Homelessness Strategic Plan in March 2025, which aligns all city departments around a shared vision, measurable goals and resource investment for addressing homelessness.
- Expanding funding for the Preserving Our Diversity, or POD, cash-based assistance program for low-income seniors.
- Expanding the city’s Right to Counsel program and creating a Flexible Financial Assistance program, which will launch in early 2026.
- Expanded outreach programs to include mental health crisis support (the County/City collaboration – Therapeutic Transport Team); increased outreach hours (to include weekend outreach on Saturday and Sunday); and opening the city-funded shelter SAMOSHEL for 24/7 referrals from first responders.
- Launching a new SaMo Bridge, to intercept individuals before they enter the criminal justice system. In the first month, the Police Department engaged and referred 56 people to the SaMo Bridge program and 37 were immediately and successfully connected to housing and supportive services.
Regional context for a regional solution
This marks the second year that Santa Monica’s count was managed by LAHSA.
LAHSA uses the same methodology across the region, in consultation with statistical experts from the University of Southern California and with guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. With LAHSA conducting the annual point in time count, the city will have a side-by-side comparison of the numbers, giving a more complete picture of the totality of homelessness in Santa Monica, the westside region and the county as a whole.
For Santa Monica, the numbers are one way the city gauges the impacts of programs to address homelessness and advocates for resources.
For more information on the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, click here.
For more information on the city’s efforts to address homelessness, including the Homelessness Strategic Plan for 2025-2030, click here.
