Volunteers are being sought for the Los Angeles homeless count occurring over three days later this month, with each day focused on determining how many people are experiencing homelessness on a given night, in different parts of the region.
The count, to be conducted rain or shine by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), is being done as requirement by the federal government, which funds the local services provided to unhoused people throughout the county, with the exception of Long Beach, Pasadena and Burbank. Those cities do their own counts and apply for funding from the federal government separately.
LAHSA’s count will occur:
- Jan. 25 in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys;
- Jan. 26 in West Los Angeles, southeast Los Angeles and the South Bay; and
- Jan. 27 in the Antelope Valley, Metro Los Angeles and South Los Angeles.
Volunteers can sign-up at: https://www.theycountwillyou.org.
A page answering frequently asked questions can be found here: https://www.theycountwillyou.org/faq2022-page.
Every two years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires LAHSA and other similar agencies to do a “point-in-time” count, to reflect the number of unhoused people on a given night.
Up until last year, when the count was canceled amid the pandemic, LAHSA had been doing annual counts.
HUD’s definition for homelessness is limited to people living in shelters and on the streets, including in tents and vehicles.
The count does not include people who are “couch-surfing,” although other tallies done by such agencies as the Los Angeles Unified School District have included them.
The results of the count will be released later this year, in the summer at http://www.lahsa.org/homeless-count.
