Redlands homeless population drops 31% amid $40 million response

REDLANDS, Calif. — The number of people experiencing homelessness in Redlands dropped 31% this year, marking the second consecutive annual decrease, according to the 2025 Point-in-Time Count released by San Bernardino County.

The federally required count, which gives a one-night snapshot, recorded 146 homeless individuals in Redlands on Jan. 23, down from 213 in 2024.

The count notes the conditions in which the individual is living: sheltered, transitional housing or unsheltered. The number of unsheltered people in Redlands - those living outside in cars or tents – declined 28%, from 144 to 104.

Those in shelters fell from 69 to 42, a 39% decrease.

The results follow a 34% decrease in Redlands' homeless population in 2024 from a record-high of 324 in 2023. 

While the countywide total fell 10.2% to 3,829 people, neighboring San Bernardino, home to the region's largest homeless population, saw an 8% increase.

The city of San Bernardino reported 1,535 people experiencing homelessness, up from 1,417 in 2024. That includes 981 unsheltered individuals and 554 in shelters, a 26% rise in the sheltered population.

Though Redlands represents under 4% of the county's total homeless population, it was among eight cities that together accounted for more than 80% of the total count.

Details from surveys

Additional data from the count comes from individual surveys. Volunteers spoke with 47 individuals to asked them a series of demographic survey questions.

The 2025 survey data shows another decline in the number of individuals who identified as chronically homeless: 23, down from 27 in 2024 and 62 in 2023. Chronically homeless individuals continue to make up about half of the unsheltered adult population.

Just 25% of those surveyed said they became homeless for the first time in the past 12 months. In both 2023 and 2024, about one-third reported becoming homeless within the past year.

City credits investment in housing, outreach

City officials attributed the progress to strategic investments in housing, services, and outreach.

"Two years of reduction in homelessness, according to the Point-in-Time Count numbers, demonstrate that we are on the right track and making significant progress," said City Manager Charlie Duggan in a statement Friday, May 16. "We will continue our efforts to provide for the health and safety of all our residents."

Since 2022, city of Redlands has secured more than $40 million in state grants to address homelessness. Measure T tax revenue has also supported the city’s efforts, with $1.2 million allocated to homeless services and Homekey project matching funds since 2023.

The 2025 city budget includes $1 million for homeless services.

Timeline of grant funding and services

• In 2022, the City Council approved a Homeless Solutions Office and hired a Homeless Solutions Manager to coordinate resources and provide outreach to the homeless population. 
• That same year, the city was awarded a $30 million Homekey grant from the State of California. The grant was used to convert a former motel into the Step Up in Redlands supportive housing. The facility, which opened in January 2023, provides housing and services to more than 100 individuals and is currently at capacity.
• In December 2023 and 2024, the city received $9.8 million total in Encampment Resolution Funding from the state. The money is intended to eliminate encampments along public right-of-ways.

The city has allocated these funds to expand outreach and partner with local organizations, including the Salvation Army, Family Service Association, Youth Hope and the Redlands Chamber of Commerce to provide housing, job assistance, and support to youth and adults. 

According to the city's budget report, the Homeless Solutions Division placed 230 people in permanent housing and 170 in shelters or hotels in 2023-2024. It also developed four street outreach teams and launched a dedicated behavioral health outreach team.

Statewide context

Gov. Gavin Newsom this month unveiled a statewide model ordinance aimed at helping cities and counties address encampments with “urgency and dignity,” while connecting unhoused residents with shelter and services.

The model policy—backed by $3.3 billion in new Proposition 1 funding—encourages local jurisdictions to adopt consistent rules that prohibit persistent camping, maintain public passage on sidewalks, and require outreach and shelter offers before encampments are cleared.

It builds on a 2024 executive order and affirms local authority following recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

“There are no more excuses,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re giving [local leaders] a model they can put to work immediately—with urgency and with humanity.”

Since 2021, the state has cleared more than 16,000 encampments on public rights-of-way. Newsom’s office said the new ordinance is meant to scale that approach statewide, combining enforcement with required notice, service coordination, and storage of personal property.

The announcement came as California released its first round of funding from Prop 1, a voter-approved initiative to expand behavioral health housing and treatment.

California’s unsheltered homeless population rose just 0.45% last year—far below the national average of nearly 7%.

The San Bernardino County Continuum of Care Board will meet May 28 to formally adopt the final report. The count’s results help determine how federal homeless services funding is allocated to local communities.