THE ANGELS — Los Angeles County’s annual count of homeless residents began Tuesday night, a crucial part of the region’s efforts to confront the crisis of tens of thousands of people living on the streets.
Up to 6,000 volunteers from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority were deployed for the main component of the effort, the unsheltered street count.
The so-called “point-in-time” count will be conducted over three days and aims to estimate how many people are experiencing homelessness and what services they may need, such as mental health or drug addiction treatment.
The Los Angeles County initiative is the largest among similar counts in major cities across the country. The recount, which also uses demographic surveys and housing counts, is mandated by the federal government for cities to receive certain types of funding.
This year’s count comes amid growing public outrage over the perceived failure – despite costly efforts – to reduce the growing population of people living in cars, tents and makeshift shelters on the streets.
The 2023 effort reported more than 75,500 people experiencing homelessness on a given night in Los Angeles County, a 9% increase from the previous year. About 46,200 were within the city of Los Angeles, where public frustration has grown as tents have proliferated on sidewalks, parks and elsewhere.
Since 2015, homelessness has increased by 70% in the county and 80% in the city.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined city and county officials to begin the count Tuesday night in the North Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.
The count “is an important tool in addressing the homelessness crisis,” Bass said in a statement. “Homelessness is an emergency and it will take all of us working together to address it.”
On his first day in office in December 2022, Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness. A year into her term, the mayor, a Democrat, announced that more than 21,000 homeless people were moved to rented hotels or other temporary shelters during 2023, a 28% increase from the previous year. Dozens of drug-ridden street encampments have been cleared and housing projects are in the works, she said last month.
The Los Angeles County City Council, City Council and Board of Supervisors have said they intend to work together to address the crisis. Progress has not always been evident despite billions spent on programs to curb homelessness.
Homelessness remains highly visible throughout California, with people living in tents and cars and sleeping outdoors on sidewalks and under freeway overpasses.
Results of Los Angeles County’s homeless count are expected to be released in late spring or early summer.