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Turlock homeless count jumps 20% as shelter remains closed and state funding dries up
homeless
The number of counted homeless individuals in Turlock reached 241, up from 201 just 12 months ago. (Journal file photo).

Just days after the closure of the We Care homeless shelter, Stanislaus County released its official point-in-time count, revealing that the number of unhoused persons in Turlock rose by 20 percent over the past year.

Overall, the number of counted homeless reached 241 in the city, up from 201 just 12 months ago. For the county as a whole, the number of homeless stands at 2,086, up a tick from 2,052 in 2024.

Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak said the number concerns her.

“Absolutely I’m concerned,” said Bublak. “But I’m concerned that it was done five months ago and that it takes so long to get the data. And I’m concerned that the state has stopped providing any funding for this coming year, which gives us yet another unfunded mandate.”

In April, We Care battled the city over a potential $267,000 grant, but lost out on the funds when, by a 3-2 margin (Bublak was one of the three dissenting votes), the city council decided not to contribute $1 and a letter of support that would’ve secured funds representing half of the shelter’s annual operating budget.

That left We Care scrambling for a backup plan.

Since the council’s decision, the 49-bed shelter has secured $90,000 from the Stanislaus Community Foundation, United Way, and Kaiser. It’s unclear when the shelter will reopen.

“I think it shows there are really great needs for our homeless community in Turlock,” said We Care board president Sandy Singh. “But the truth is, it’s not just a shelter that’s needed. We need more resources overall. More housing, more counseling, more mental health support. The answer isn’t closing down a shelter. The answer is expanding services.”

Bublak pointed out that the city has, in fact, been helpful to We Care, selling the organization a multi-family duplex, a four-plex, and two single-family homes to manage and lease to low-income residents, with rents going to aid the shelter, according to Bublak.

The point-in-time count is an annual survey of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for communities receiving federal homelessness funding. 

In all, 232 volunteers surveyed people across the county. Homeless individuals staying in emergency shelters and transitional housing were counted on Jan. 29. On the morning of Jan. 30, volunteers fanned out across city streets to interview people willing to participate in the unsheltered count. Participants who completed the survey were provided with care packages that included socks, snacks, and water.

Turlock wasn’t the only city to see its number increase. Oakdale’s nearly doubled, shooting from 26 last year to 50 in 2025. Empire went from 67 to 93, while Riverbank moved from 28 to 31.

Modesto, the largest city in the county with a population of around 220,000, shaved its number from 1,622 last year to 1,603. Ceres also saw a slight decline, going from 22 to 18, while Patterson dropped its number by 60 percent, going from 61 to 36.

Community gears up for National Night Out
NNO 2024
Young visitors to the 2024 National Night Out event at Columbia Park get an up-close look at a Burmese python (Journal file photo).
For the 16th year, there will be a party in neighborhoods across town to celebrate and strengthen the bond between local law enforcement and community members through the National Night Out program.
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