A just released census of Ventura County’s homeless population shows a significant year to year drop in the number of people without permanent housing. The January survey found just over 1200 men, women, and children homeless in the county, down 10% from 2015. It’s the lowest total number since 2007 in the county. Ventura County officials credit the drop in numbers to efforts to help the homeless, noting they helped 888 people find permanent housing in 2015. They say over the course of the year, there are an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people who are homeless in the county.
Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.