CHARM Roadmap: People experiencing homelessness

Homelessness in Lake County is a growing and complex issue that extends beyond visible street homelessness. Many individuals and families live in vehicles, RVs without hookups, tents, motels, overcrowded housing, or temporarily with others—forms of housing instability often overlooked.

According to the 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, 527 people were unhoused in Lake County on a single night in January, up from 491 in 2023 and 339 in 2022. These figures likely underestimate the true scope of the issue, as many people remain hidden from formal counts.

Rural homelessness here is shaped by limited shelter options, geographic isolation, and a shortage of affordable housing. First-time homelessness is rising, and long-term instability affects seniors, people with disabilities, and those displaced by wildfires.

Vulnerability to climate-driven events

People who are unhoused face heightened risks from climate-driven events (CDEs) due to constant exposure, limited resources, and barriers to services.

• Extreme heat increases risk of dehydration, heat stroke, and death, especially without access to shade, water, or cooling centers.
• Extreme cold can lead to hypothermia and frostbite. Lack of warm shelter, clothing, or heating increases danger, especially for those with health conditions.
• Wildfires and smoke threaten people in outdoor encampments. Smoke exposure worsens respiratory issues, and evacuation is often difficult due to lack of alerts, transportation, or shelter options.
• Floods and storms can destroy camps in low-lying areas and cause injury, exposure to contaminated water, or loss of critical belongings.
• Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose risks when people use untreated water sources for drinking or hygiene, leading to illness or toxic exposure.
• Cross-cutting issues include limited mobility; distrust of authorities; lack of access to alerts, health care, or safe shelter; and increased risk of displacement during disasters.

Who works with this community

Lake County, California, offers a comprehensive network of services to support unhoused residents, including peer support centers, outreach programs, and coordinated entry systems. Key peer support centers include the Big Oak Peer Support Center in Clearlake Oaks, the Circle of Native Minds Cultural Center in Lakeport, La Voz de la Esperanza Wellness Center in Clearlake, the Harbor Youth Resource Center in Lakeport, and the Family Support Center in Clearlake. These centers provide culturally responsive mental health services, housing assistance, and wellness programs. The Lake County Continuum of Care manages the Coordinated Entry System to connect individuals with housing resources, while mobile outreach teams and Adventist Health's mobile shower trailer offer on-the-ground support. Additional services include youth programs, support groups for substance use recovery, and empowerment circles for women, ensuring comprehensive support for those experiencing homelessness.

Selected survey findings

A very small portion (12 people, or 5%) of our survey respondents identified as being unhoused, living with someone temporarily, or living in their vehicle. An additional 9 (4%) reported living in an RV or trailer.

Of these:

• 7 had been unhoused for 0-3 years, and 5 had been for 4+ years.
• 11 out of 12 respondents had been unhoused during a heat wave.
• Almost all unhoused respondents reported having a cat, dog, or other pet.

Community voices

On extreme heat:

"I stay in a storage shed with one power source coming through it, so I can't be running an air conditioner in there. And it's hot...they used to build engines in there, so it gets all sticky, and I feel like it's all over me."

[On coping with heat] "Jump in the lake...I don't do nothing. Find a shady tree."

On wildfires:

"Another time in Lower Lake I was walking down the highway and walked right into the damn fire."

"We lost a friend, and so that's why...we are so worried about what's going on, because they're our friends. We know them from the shelter or just being on the streets. And the people I've met here in Lakeport have been the nicest homeless people I've ever met...so, like, you become a family with them."

"I'm now thinking about, if there was a wildfire, if [we] had to evacuate for any reason, I would have been running for the hills."

On extreme cold:

"Actually, one point when I was homeless, I think it was two winters ago. It was a January, it was like literally...I would have to be totally covered up by six o'clock. And then... I'd sleep until the next morning till [the peer support center would] open, walked down here and stayed warm."

Expand access to safe, resilient shelter

• Increase availability of resilience centers that are open 24-hours during extreme heat or cold days.
• Provide resilience center or shelter options that accept pets, partners, and belongings to reduce barriers to use.
• Provide resilience centers, shelters, and transitional housing with air filtration (e.g., HEPA filters) and other equipment (e.g., ice machines) to support their use during CDEs. Provide training to staff on emergency preparedness and CDEs.

Provide climate-specific supplies and support

• Distribute resilience kits with items like water filters, N95 masks, sunscreen, tarps, electrolyte drinks, and cooling towels to unhoused individuals.
• Partner with mutual aid groups and service providers to ensure regular outreach during climate emergencies.

Enhance public health and outreach services

• Train outreach workers to recognize and respond to climate-related health risks, like heat stroke or HAB symptoms.
• Provide mobile health clinics or pop-up services in encampments or rural areas during CDEs.
• Ensure mental health services are accessible, recognizing climate stress adds to trauma.

Improve communication and alerts

• Use radio, outreach teams, and signage in encampment areas to share warnings about heat, smoke, or HABs. Many unhoused individuals do not have access to cell phones or computers.
• Ensure materials are simple, visual, and multilingual, accounting for literacy and access barriers.
• Collaborate with Tribal and community-based organizations and other trusted messengers to reach disconnected or rural unhoused individuals.

Invest in long-term housing solutions with resilience in mind

• Prioritize permanent supportive housing that is energy-efficient, cooled, ventilated, and located away from floodplains or high wildfire risk zones.
• Incorporate resilience and home hardening into funding and design standards for housing projects.

Strengthen interagency coordination

• Align efforts among public health, housing, emergency services, and Tribal agencies for joint planning and rapid response to outreach to and support unhoused individuals during CDEs.
• Include representatives from unhoused populations in community resilience and emergency management plans at the county level.

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