From January 27th to the 29th residents from all over Los Angeles came out to participate the 2009 Greater Los Angeles homeless count; the nation’s largest count of its kind.
Helping Hands
Every two years the Los Angeles Homeless Authority (LAHSA) organizes and recruits volunteers to make the homeless count possible. It takes a large mobile group of volunteers to be able to cover every street of Los Angeles county.
A Dense City
Some areas of Los Angeles counties were more dense than others. For example in the skid row block where it is legal to sleep on streets there much higher homeless populations. However even the places where it is illegal to sleep had to be counted for data purposes.
The bi-annual count is the main source of information the government requires in allocating funds to the city. The 2007 count resulted in a total of 73000 homeless people and although LAHSA could not confirm whether numbers would be higher for the 2009 count homelessness is becoming a final option for many families in difficult economic times.
Help For the Future
LAHSA says that the data gathered will be extremely valuable to efforts to reduce and end homelessness across Los Angeles County. The data will also help policy makers understand the geographic and demographic diversity of homelessness so that the types of housing and services provided are responsive to the need.