A new report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) suggests San Diego County’s homelessness response system is making progress, with more people finding permanent housing and fewer returning to homelessness. But some service providers say the data also highlights persistent challenges, particularly a lack of shelter capacity and the growing number of older adults experiencing homelessness.
The RTFH’s 2025 Data and Performance Report analyzed the county’s homelessness response system during fiscal years 2023 through 2025. Unlike the annual Point-in-Time Count conducted within the City of San Diego, which provides a one-night snapshot of homelessness, the report evaluates how well the county’s homelessness response system is performing throughout the year.
According to the report, the rate of people exiting to permanent housing increased from 23% to 29% over the three-year period. Improvements were seen among several populations, including youth, seniors and veterans, with veterans experiencing some of the largest gains.
The report also found fewer people returned to homelessness after exiting the system, while first-time homelessness declined.
“I think that’s a reflection of more targeted prevention efforts and likely an increase in investment around prevention,” said Drew Moser, CEO of the Lucky Duck Foundation.
The report also found street outreach programs more than doubled the number of people they helped connect to permanent housing countywide.
Despite those improvements, the report found people are spending longer periods of time experiencing homelessness before finding permanent housing.
RTFH said demand for homelessness services continues to remain high and emphasized that continued federal, state and local funding for housing and supportive services will be necessary to sustain progress.
Moser said one finding stood out in particular.
“It also showed that seniors tragically are staying on the streets longer and that is unfortunately the largest and it’s the fastest growing segment of the unsheltered homeless population,” he said.
Moser also highlighted that rising housing costs continue to disproportionately affect older adults living on fixed incomes.
“Rents and inflation keep rising, but so many seniors unfortunately are living on a fixed income, so it’s just bad economics,” Moser said. “There’s very little mental health concerns or addiction or substance abuse. It’s just a math equation.”
Moser also pointed to what he believes is a shortage of available shelter beds in the City of San Diego.
“At a time when, in the City of San Diego, 9 out of 10 requests for shelter go unfulfilled,” Moser said, “we believe there has to be more shelter beds, detox beds, more immediately available pathways off the streets.”
He added that many people experiencing homelessness are ready to accept help but cannot because space is unavailable.
“There’s not enough capacity,” Moser said. “There’s a lot of folks that’re on the streets that want out of that life, but they simply can’t do it because the capacity doesn’t exist.”
The City of San Diego has included funding for approximately 200 additional shelter beds in its upcoming budget in an effort to address that shortage. At the same time, however, some shelters are expected to reduce capacity, and the Neil Good Day Center is scheduled to close by the end of the year.
Moser said he supports expanding shelter capacity but believes reductions elsewhere could undermine those gains.
“We totally applaud that they’re activating new beds and adding beds to the system, but they absolutely should not be closing beds anywhere, especially at a time when less than 1 out of 10 requests for shelter go fulfilled,” he said.
The findings come just months after the City of San Diego released its 2026 Point-in-Time Count, which found the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness within the city declined by 11%, while sheltered homelessness increased by 12%.
Moser said the Point-in-Time Count is encouraging but should be viewed with caution.
“I don’t think it’s anything to celebrate, but it’s a step in the right direction that overall, based on the point in time count, people are moving inside,” he said.
RTFH said while the county’s homelessness response system has shown measurable progress over the past three years, continued investment and expanded housing and shelter options will be needed to build on those gains.
NBC 7 reached out to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness for additional comment and did not hear back in time for publication.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.