The Freedom Warming Center emergency shelters— started in 2009 after a homeless individual nicknamed “Freedom” died of exposure— were activated this week as Santa Barbara County enters a cold snap. | Credit: Paul Wellman (file)

Based on still preliminary analysis, as many as 160 homeless people could have died in Santa Barbara County over the years 2019 and 2020.  Broken down by year, 2019 could have witnessed 76 homeless deaths and for 2020, the number could be 84. 

These numbers remain somewhat raw and uncooked, according to Santa Barbara County epidemiologist Ralph Barbosa, who heads the annual homeless mortality count and cautioned the numbers could be considerably lower by the time the final report goes to the county supervisors in February. It turns out that determining whether someone was homeless at the time of their demise is far more challenging than it might appear at first blush. 

“It seems so simple, right?” Barbosa said.  “But it’s not.”

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