The number of homeless people in Fresno and Madera has increased since last year.

According to numbers from the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC), a local organization that provides and coordinates homeless housing and services, there are around 1,133 more people who are homeless in Fresno and Madera this year than in 2019.

The FMCoC is supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other local agencies working to end homelessness.

In an online press conference on Wednesday morning, city officials were joined by local advocates to present numbers from this year’s Point-in-Time (PIT) count to get an accurate and reliable number and unsheltered homeless individuals and families in Fresno and Madera counties.

The count is usually submitted to HUD, which requires the count in January but there was a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to this year’s count, there are a total of 3,641 homeless people living in Fresno and Madera County. In 2019 that number were 2,508. There were over 500 people that became sheltered in 2020.

Laura Moreno, chair of FMCoC said that there are 460 new beds in Fresno and Madera.

“A lot of times the reaction [to the homeless] is fear based,” Moreno said. “If businesses can take the perspective that we are dealing with people with difficult life situations—illness, substance abuse, and a difficult financial crisis. If we can start with the human aspect, I think that would take us a long way.”

 

 

Mayor Lee Brand said that the homelessness issue is always on top when he converses with mayors from other large cities. Brand said different avenues should be considered to find solutions.

“We cannot hope to conquer this crisis by maintaining the status-quo,” said Brand. “We need bold ideas and full cooperation. I am confident that everyone involved, the city, the county, our non-profit partners, is up to the challenge.”

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig said that many in the business community are not aware of the layers of services for the homeless in the area and that they should reach out to local officials and the county to address their issues.

“The first step I think businesses should take is to make that phone call to their city and county leaders so that we can engage and make sure that the homeless folks that are out there are provided with services that are available,” Magsig said.