Has the number of homeless people increased in Sebastopol? 

Has the number of homeless people increased in Sebastopol? 

January 7, 2025

Yes. According to the count, the number of homeless people (sheltered and unsheltered) increased by 31 people, from 87 in 2023 to 114 in the 2024 survey, or 36%. In Sonoma County, the number rose from 2,266 to 2,522, or 22% from 2023-24. 

The difference in the significant rise in the count is due to a different method for the count being used. In the past, on a specific day, volunteers would physically walk areas, hoping they would stumble upon people and they could be counted. During this recent count, our outreach provider, West County Community Services, had been doing ongoing outreach prior to the day of the count and knew who was where to count them and they had logged previous contacts with individuals. Based on those relationships and already knowing who was homeless and where they were located, a truer count was achieved which resulted in the increase. Prior counts were likely to result in inaccurately lower numbers due to the method used at that time.