"At some point, their life took a turn and they just fall into such desperation that, there's like, there's no hope," said Kevin Kaden, a resident at Santa Barbara Rescue Mission's sober living facility.
Kaden was a successful realtor for 20 years but after the death of his wife and a stroke, he says he turned to alcohol and became homeless.
"My reason for existence, you know, was to take care of my girls and my wife," Kaden said.
His five daughters live in Northern California and out of state. Kaden, now four years sober, is staying in Santa Barbara due to medical reasons and is waiting on Section 8 housing.
"It gets very discouraging. There’s just not enough affordable housing," he said.
According to a recent Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report, more than 1,100 people without a home have been housed in Santa Barbara County through collaborative efforts by the county’s community action plan since 2019. But still, homelessness is on the rise.
"People have to think about inflow and exit. So we’re housing people at record numbers and we're also seeing a lot of people fall into homelessness, especially for the first time," explained Kristine Schwartz, Director at New Beginnings.
Currently, there are 1,332 people living on the streets of Santa Barbara, a 12% increase since 2023, according to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count.
The Grand Jury report released this past June praises the county for its progress in creating new housing and identifying 18 county-owned sites with the potential for nearly 6,000 new housing units, but Schwartz with New Beginnings says more is needed.
"Housing them is just step one. The issue then becomes housing retention, really paying attention to that second piece where we help people stabilize and stay housed," Schwartz said.
Schwartz says keeping people housed is the second most important factor in reducing homelessness. The Grand Jury report also acknowledged resistance to housing is often due to a lack of provisions for partners, property, and pets, causing many people to return to an encampment even after receiving services.
The six findings in the report focused on funding, health, public health, housing, the environment, and mental illness.
The Santa Barbara City Council and County Board of Supervisors are set to discuss the report next Tuesday.
