By Nick Gerda/LAist
Originally published June 28, 2024
L.A.’s annual point-in-time homelessness count was released Friday, showing a 10% drop in the number of people sleeping outdoors in the city.
It comes after beefed up investments in shelter and longer term housing: Since L.A. Mayor Karen Bass took office in December 2022, the city has invested more than $1 billion to try and address homelessness.
It’s a dramatic shift from last year’s count, which saw a 15% increase in unsheltered homelessness in the city.
“It is very, very exciting results,” said Councilmember Nithya Raman, who chairs the council’s housing and homelessness committee, in an interview with LAist.
“For the first time in a very long time, we are seeing a reduction —a significant reduction, over 10% — in the number of people on our streets,” she added.
Meanwhile, the number of people in shelter rose by double digits — reflecting a shift in people moving from the streets to being indoors.
Why the overall numbers stayed flat
Overall homelessness tallied in the city was effectively flat — a change from increases in prior years. The count shows total homelessness dropping 2%, though officials said it’s within the margin of error.
The count estimated 45,252 people were unhoused in the city of L.A. at the time of the January tally, including an estimated 29,275 people living unsheltered.
Local homelessness officials attributed the change to what they call an unprecedented investment in shelter and housing — including the mayor’s Inside Safe motel program — and better coordination between all levels of government.
At the same time, they cautioned that the city needs more affordable housing if the downward trend is to continue.
“Unfortunately, the root causes of homelessness are as strong as ever,” said Paul Rubenstein, who leads external affairs at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, which oversaw the count. “To prevent homelessness, the Los Angeles region must reverse decades of under building affordable housing, help more people achieve economic stability, and address the shrinking social safety net.”
In the rest of L.A. County, the count shows unsheltered homelessness increasing slightly, by about 3%.
Overall, 75,312 people were estimated to be unhoused countywide.
The numbers are based on a count held the morning of Jan. 25. Some census tracts weren’t covered the day of, so teams counted those in the days that followed.
How the count works
The count, which is conducted annually and aims to count every unhoused person, is considered the most comprehensive data on the unhoused population in the L.A. area.
For the unsheltered count, volunteers counted tents and vehicles that appeared to have people living in them. Those numbers were then multiplied by estimates for the average number of people in each type of dwelling, based on in-depth surveys of people experiencing homelessness.
The sheltered count is more precise. That data is gathered directly from shelter operators to capture the number of unhoused people staying inside on the night of the count.
The findings were released Friday morning by LAHSA.
Fewer people volunteered for this count
This year’s count saw a nearly 20% drop from the prior year in the number of volunteers participating in the count in a region covering the core of the city of L.A. — stretching from Mid City and Hollywood through Skid Row to Eagle Rock.
Other areas, such as a region covering the Westside, saw a big jump in volunteers.
Rubenstein said that the drops in volunteers doesn’t affect the count, because each team still is required to survey the full area they’re responsible for. It just might take longer on the morning of the count, he said.
How LAist spotted a slight error
In their embargoed briefing for reporters, LAHSA officials showed a slightly wrong calculation for one of the most widely-watched statistics: the percentage drop in unsheltered homelessness in the city of L.A.
The briefing showed the drop as 10.7%, which rounds to 11%. But when LAist data journalist Maloy Moore ran the raw numbers, the drop was actually 10.4%, which rounds to 10%.
When an LAist reporter noted it, Adams Kellum said her team will “flag that for USC. That’s their slides.”
LAHSA then had the correct percentage in the presentation they sent to reporters.
Release comes on day of major Supreme Court ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court released a long-awaited decision Friday in a case expected to have broad implications for how cities like Los Angeles treat people experiencing homelessness.
Justices ruled 6-3 to reverse a lower court opinion that found bans on sleeping in public unconstitutional.
Read more about that decision:
This report is reprinted with permission from Southern California Public Radio. © 2024 Southern California Public Radio. All rights reserved.