Carlsbad, CA
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Chris Shilling
Homeless Services Manager
chris.shilling@carlsbadca.gov
442-339-2284
Homeless Outreach Team
policehot@carlsbadca.gov
442-339-2249
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Reducing Homelessness
Learn how the City of Carlsbad is addressing homelessness and its effects on the community.
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The City of Carlsbad is committed to addressing the problem of homelessness in our community and has devoted local resources toward this goal. To meet the goals of the City Council's 5-Year Strategic Plan, staff are implementing an updated Homelessness Action Plan to reduce homelessness and its effects on the community.
The Homelessness Action Plan continues the city's strategy of focusing on programs that will make the biggest difference for Carlsbad.
Report on homelessness
On Tuesday, the City of Carlsbad’s homeless response team reported steady progress on continued efforts to reduce homelessness and its effects on the community, which are top priorities for the City Council.
The semi-annual report reflects data from the first six months of the fiscal year, July through December 2024. During that time period:
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Services were provided to 466 people experiencing homelessness, including 11 families and 23 children.
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87 people were transitioned to permanent housing, more than double the placements made during the same time period in the previous year. The increase is due in part to federal and state grant funding received in January 2024 to increase efforts to address homelessness in the downtown Village area.
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71 people were placed in temporary shelter.
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Preventive services were provided to 57 individuals to help keep them from becoming homeless.
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29 encampments were cleaned up.
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The number of total Police calls for service related to homelessness decreased by 36%.
By securing additional grants in recent years, the city has been able to expand direct services to further combat homelessness in Carlsbad, at less cost to the city.
In addition to presenting data from the semi-annual report, the homeless response team also presented initial results from efforts that started earlier this year.
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In March 2025, the City Council updated a city law to prohibit camping in vehicles in public spaces. The Homeless Outreach Team has started with an education first approach, letting people know about the updated camping law and offering to help connect them to services.
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In a related effort, the team began work on a state-funded program to help connect people living in vehicles to housing. Since May 2025, the team has worked with 38 people, four of whom have moved into permanent housing.
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Earlier this year, the city launched an additional state-funded program with the City of Oceanside to address encampments along State Route 78. Outreach efforts at the first encampment site near the Buena Vista Creek have successfully moved 34 people into permanent housing so far.