While efforts to address homeless encampments in the Santa Maria riverbed have been effective , the Santa Maria City Council on Tuesday asked for more enforcement and monetary partnership from the County of San Luis Obispo.

The January 2025 point-in-time homeless count showed that while there was a slight increase in the number of homeless in Santa Maria, there was a drop in the number of people living in vehicles and an increase in the number of people living in shelters.

During the January count, 459 people were found to be experiencing homelessness, up from the 424 counted in 2024; however the count did show improvement in the number of people living in shelters with 243 reported as living in shelters compared to the 189 in 2024.

The number of people living in vehicles dropped from

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