Number of homeless in Solano County increased by nearly 50% since 2022, new data shows

FAIRFIELD – The biannual point in time count of homelessness in Solano County showed that there were 1,725 people experiencing homelessness in the county this year, an increase of more than 46% since the last full count was conducted in 2022.

While the number of people who were homeless increased dramatically, the number of those who had shelter barely increased at all as the county did not add shelter space and shelters and transitional housing available were nearly full.

The point in time count is conducted nationwide every two years for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and attempts to count everyone who does not have a permanent home in the country. In Solano County, it is executed by the Community Action Partnership Joint Powers Authority, a partnership between the county and each of its cities.

The report published Thursday notes that the sharp increase in people experiencing homelessness from the 2022 count could be attributed in part to improvements in how the count was conducted. There were more volunteers to help with the count in 2024 than 2022, which leads to more thorough canvassing.

Vallejo city officials suggested last year that the 2022 count, which showed little change in the number of homeless over the last 10 years, was inaccurately low. The 2022 report indicated that there were 454 homeless people in Vallejo.

“This, we know, is not an extremely accurate number,” Vallejo homelessness manager Natalie Peterson told the City Council last year. “If you drive around the city, you will see more than 454 unhoused individuals.”

This year’s report found that there were 727 homeless people in Vallejo, the most of any city in the county. In Fairfield there were 615 people and in Vacaville there were 233. Vallejo also had the largest proportion of unsheltered people as the city has struggled to open new affordable housing projects and shelters that have been delayed for years. 

Vallejo has been seeking to build a navigation center for years, which finally broke ground in April. Meanwhile, work stopped on a planned 47-unit supportive housing project, which required a bailout from the City Council.

The report also shows that available shelter space in the county has shrunk in recent years and that nearly all the emergency shelter beds were full, with over 90% of the 187 available beds in the county taken. Only one of 121 transitional housing beds was available at the time of the survey.

The version of the report published last week did not include the Solano Dream Center, a shelter in Vallejo, in the figures for that city. After an inquiry from the Vallejo Sun, a joint powers authority representative confirmed that the center reported 62 people stayed there on the day of the count and updated the report to reflect that.

“I don’t put much faith in the PIT count as it has too many flaws, inconsistencies and inaccuracies,” Dr. Michael Hester, a member of the Solano Dream Center’s board, said in an email. Hester previously told the Vallejo Sun that the shelter typically is mostly full.

Until recently, a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision prevented cities from removing homeless people from public property if there was no shelter space available. But the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision in June and Gov. Gavin Newsom encouraged cities to remove homeless encampments. Since then, Vallejo has stepped up its enforcement, despite a lack of available shelter.

According to the report, 28.5% of homeless people in the county slept in a car, 19.9% in an RV or 7.1% in a van. About a quarter slept in a tent or a makeshift shelter and 5.8% slept on the street or sidewalk. 

The report showed that 26% of homeless people in the county are Black, compared to only 13% in the county overall. 

Nearly half of homeless people said they had a disability that prevented them from working and maintaining permanent housing. More than 20% are physically disabled and 24.3% suffered from a chronic health condition. Nearly 40% reported struggling with a substance use disorder and 29.5% suffered from mental illness, according to the report. 

Five percent of homeless people in the county are veterans and 3.6% are unaccompanied youth.

The report also found that a disproportionate number of homeless people were jailed. The Solano County Sheriff’s Office surveyed the jail population in January and found that 22% of the people in the jail were homeless. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a correction in the published report.