The authors of the Measure A half-cent homelessness sales tax that went into effect April 1 infused it with broad goals such as reducing the number of people who become homeless each year and increasing the number leaving encampments.
To give the public tools to measure its success — or failure — they included a process to add concrete targets and time lines after county voters approved the measure in November.
That has now been completed by the Leadership Table for Regional Homeless Alignment, a panel of service providers, experts and formerly homeless people created by the county Board of Supervisors.
Research by the California Policy Lab at UCLA combined data from several county agencies that track service provider contacts with homeless people. From that data, the Policy Lab drew statistics that gave the clearest picture yet of some basic facts about homelessness and their trends over recent years.
It found, for example, that more than 60,000 new people entered the homelessness system in 2024 — most exited on their own — and that 41% of homeless people reported having either a serious mental illness, a substance use disorder or both.
Those statistics became the baselines. The Leadership table then set five-year targets for improvement. In contrast to the sweeping language of ending homelessness that led to disillusionment over previous tax measures, it adopted moderate goals that it considered attainable. For example, reducing the number of unsheltered people by 30%.
Those targets were approved by the Executive Committee for Regional Homeless Alignment, a panel of elected officials from the county and cities.
The chart below shows each goal and the metrics associated with it.
