County outlines HAARP interdepartmental plan as homelessness entries outpace exits

Community Services Department presented the 2026 homelessness update and outlined a new interdepartmental response called HAARP (Homelessness Alliance Response & Prevention).

Staff said HMIS annualized data show a modest overall decline but highlighted two negative trends: the average time from coordinated entry to housing has increased to about 190 days (up from 134 days in 2023), and the number of first‑time users of homelessness services rose during the pandemic and only recently began to decline. Subpopulation trends include a spike in transitional‑age youth (18–24), a 7% increase in older adults on fixed incomes and a notable rise in vehicular homelessness. A targeted UCSB/SymTech survey found many people living in vehicles were working households with median monthly income around $2,000 and that roughly half transitioned to vehicles from conventional housing, indicating prevention opportunities.

Staff summarized encampment resolution funding (approx. $21M state funds and over $1M federal ARPA) and outcomes: more than 1,300 encampments handled countywide over four years and more than 300 people placed in permanent housing via those efforts. Funding management totals approx. $32M in homelessness contracts (about $24M state, $7M federal, and $0.6M county funds for warming shelters), with significant annual planning required due to short ascertainability of state grants.

To better coordinate prevention and housing retention, County staff described HAARP, an interdepartmental initiative involving behavioral wellness, county health, probation, social services, community services and other departments to provide a unified data hub and coordinated response. The board voted to receive and file the report and to support staff direction.

What happens next: staff will proceed with HAARP implementation activities, pursue expanded unified data capabilities for prevention triage and return with regular reports; the board expects alignment of audits and Wellpath reporting to provide a fuller oversight picture.