Unsheltered homelessness in Santa Monica falls 18.7 percent
July 24, 2026 5:16 PM
2026 Point-in-Time Count shows 114 fewer people counted sleeping outside in Santa Monica, against a backdrop where homelessness across the LA region increased.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 24, 2026) — The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Santa Monica fell 18.7 percent over the past year, according to 2026 Point-in-Time Count data released today by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA. At the same time, the number of people in shelter in Santa Monica rose nearly 10 percent.
Taken together, the count identified 718 people experiencing homelessness in Santa Monica — 94 fewer than the 812 counted in 2025, an overall decline of 11.6 percent, and the lowest total recorded since LAHSA began administering Santa Monica’s count in 2024.
The 2026 Santa Monica results include:
- 222 people in shelter – up 20 people, an increase of 9.9 percent
- 389 people counted outdoors, including at city beaches – down 86 people, a decrease of 18.1 percent
- 59 occupied vehicles (cars, vans and RVs) – down 25 vehicles, a decrease of 29.8 percent
- 48 tents and makeshift shelters – down three
The steepest single decline was in people living in vans, which fell from 52 to 34. Vehicle-based homelessness had been the primary driver of Santa Monica's increase in the 2025 count.
“Behind every one of these numbers is a person, and behind this progress is a community that refuses to treat homelessness as inevitable,” Mayor Caroline Torosis said. “This is what happens when a city stays committed to keeping people housed. We’re proud of this milestone, and we are not slowing down.”
These results arrive as homelessness rose across much of the region. LAHSA’s 2026 findings indicate an increase of approximately 1.2 percent across the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, and 3.4 percent in the City of Los Angeles, where unsheltered homelessness rose 7.9 percent.
Homelessness Strategic Plan being implemented in Santa Monica
“This decline reflects what a dedicated system of care can achieve when we meet people where they are and connect them to services right away,” said Aileen Reynolds, director of Housing and Human Services. “At the same time, we know our work is not done. We’ll keep following the data, strengthening our partnerships, and building upon the housing-focused infrastructure that brings lasting stability for our neighbors.”
Santa Monica adopted its Homelessness Strategic Plan in March 2025, aligning every city department around shared goals, measurable outcomes, and a single homelessness response approach grounded in four pillars: prevention, intervention, coordination, and communication.
To continue building on the successful programming, the city has been working to implement a local housing focused system of care through two objectives in the city’s Realignment Plan — Achieving Safe Neighborhoods & Clean Streets, and Developing Affordable, Livable & Secure Housing for All — that tie street conditions, outreach, public safety, prevention, and housing production into a single organized effort, rather than treating them as separate problems.
Additional efforts to address homelessness deployed this past year
SaMo Bridge
In addition to implementation of the Homelessness Strategic Plan, several other efforts contributed to this year’s Point-in-Time count results, including the City’s SaMo Bridge program.
Launched in April 2025, SaMo Bridge is a 24/7 respite hub at Main Street and Pico Boulevard, accessible by Santa Monica Police Department referral only, and operated by the city’s longtime partner Exodus Recovery, in collaboration with the City Attorney’s Office, Police Department and the city’s Housing and Human Services Department. Rather than arresting someone for a minor offense, an officer can bring them to SaMo Bridge, where a resource navigator begins a 90-day care coordination plan.
In its first year, SaMo Bridge:
- Received 462 referrals from the Santa Monica Police Department, exceeding its original program design of 260 annual referrals in year one
- Started 363 individuals on 90-day care coordination plans
- Directly connected 233 participants to services, of whom 81 percent were immediately placed into housing and treatment programs
- Produced 54 graduates who became eligible for citation dismissal
Homeless Prevention, Outreach, and Reunification Programs
Other programs that have helped aid the city’s approach to addressing homelessness include:
- Street outreach teams, in partnership with the Salvation Army and The People Concern, expanded hours and coverage, including weekend outreach.
- The Police Department’s Homeless Liaison Program grew, pairing enforcement of shared community standards with immediate connection to services.
- Right to Counsel continued keeping tenants in their homes by providing legal representation in eviction proceedings.
- The city’s Project Homecoming initiative has helped return more than 3,200 people home to their family and support networks since 2006.
- Beginning in late summer 2026, the city will partner with the RAND Corporation to conduct independent counts of unsheltered homelessness in Santa Monica on a bi-monthly basis, paired with in-person surveys of unsheltered residents.
About the count
The Point-in-Time Count is a federally required, one-night snapshot conducted each January and administered across the region by LAHSA using a consistent methodology. Santa Monica’s city-level figure reflects the actual number of people counted along with the number of improvised dwellings (cars, vans, RVs, tents and makeshift shelters) observed, consistent with how Santa Monica’s results have been reported since 2023. The count is a directional indicator, not a census, and year-over-year changes should be read alongside other local data.
For more information on the 2026 Point-in-Time Count results, visit lahsa.org.
Media Contact
Lauren Howland
Communications and public information manager
lauren.howland@santamonica.gov
Categories
Departments, Housing, Strategic Priorities