Longest Night Ceremony to Pay Tribute to Those Who Died While Homeless in Santa Barbara

With ceremonial solemnity, the names of more than 65 people who died while homeless this past year will be read out loud this Thursday, December 21, at 5:15 p.m. in front of the Santa Barbara Courthouse as part of what’s become an annual commemorative event known as the “The Longest Night.” In years past, one well-known pastor — since deceased — would bang his fist on the courthouse’s thick wooden door for dramatic effect. 

“Probably, this number is an undercount,” said Rich Sander, event organizer with S.B. ACT, a nonprofit that for the past three and a half years has sought to focus attention and resources on homelessness while engaging the broader community. “We expect we’ll be hearing about some people who passed for the first time that night.” 

December 21 is selected because it is the shortest day of the calendar; sunset is scheduled at 4:52 p.m. The event highlights the serious health challenges encountered by people with no roof over their head. While the United States has seen a 12 percent increase in the number of unsheltered people counted in last year’s federally mandated Point-in-Time count and California witnessed a 6 percent hike, Santa Barbara’s numbers actually dipped slightly — by 3 percent — from 1,962 in 2022 to 1,887 in 2023. 

According to Kimberlee Albers, the county’s de facto homeless czar, the biggest drop was in the number of people living in cars, camps, parks, and storefronts but not in shelters. All these numbers constitute a snapshot only and should not be regarded as definitive — the number of people seeking services is typically considerably higher — but they have become the benchmark by which state, federal, and local governments gauge the severity of the problem and the effectiveness of the response. 

The past three years have witnessed an unprecedented infusion of state and federal dollars into Santa Barbara to develop temporary, interim, transitional, and permanent housing for people who’ve become homeless. In that time, that’s translated into the development of 10 low-income and homeless housing projects totaling 414 units. Of those, 254 of those were earmarked for people who are homeless. 

In the next three years, 16 similar projects are on the drawing board countywide, totaling 863 new units. Of those, 566 have been set aside for people who are homeless. 

That’s still not enough, Albers said at a recent meeting of government heads, to meet the demand. But it might explain why Santa Barbara’s numbers are considerably lower than the state or nation as a whole. 

S.B. ACT’s Sander said government and nonprofit agencies on the South Coast are communicating “better than they ever have,” adding, “We are definitely moving the needle.” 

S.B. ACT is best known for the three Neighborhood Navigation Center it launched on the South Coast —Tuesday morning at the Carrillo-Castillo Commuter Lot, Wednesday morning at the Rescue Mission, and Thursday evening at Alameda Park. Meals and showers are offered, but doing the offering is a who’s who of social service agency representatives seeking to establish connections and trust with people living on the street. 

“We’re not just a meal,” Sander said. “We’re about getting people off the street.” 

Sander said he expects to transition from the three pop-up operations S.B. ACT now runs to one full-time space — at a place to be determined — to be operated Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

“We have the money, and we have the philanthropists lined up,” he said. “We should be able to announce the location early next year.” 

In the meantime, Albers and the county are gearing up for the 2024 Point-in-Time count, scheduled for January 24. To make this happen, Albers said she needs 400–500 volunteers countywide. All volunteers need to sign up for at least one training session, which will be both online and in-person. Those looking to sign up can visit countyofsb.pointintime.info.

Editor’s Note: This story was changed to reflect the number of homeless people who died in 2023, which is estimated to be more than 65 persons.