With just days to go, Santa Monica prepares for the 2024 homeless count as the crisis surges nationwide. On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, from 8 p.m. to midnight, a number of compassionate volunteers will gather at St. Monica’s Church, at the intersection of 7th St and California Ave and begin counting the unhoused in Santa Monica.
And it’s not just limited to our sunny, seaside city. Over a total of three nights across the whole of Greater Los Angeles — and that includes Los Angeles County, along with Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino Counties — teams equipped with warm clothing and clipboards will venture forth into the streets and begin the task of counting the number of individuals who appear to be living in homelessness outside, in cars, tents and other make-shift shelters.
A cursory glance at the official theycountwillyou.org/volunteer website shows that the maximum number of volunteers for Santa Monica, 100 this year, has been reached. However, Ahmad Chapman, Communications Director for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), says that there is always a need for more across the county.
“We are always going to be looking for more volunteers for the homeless count week, we ask right up until the count starts on the third night,” Chapman says. “I know we have thousands of people signed up [across Los Angeles County] and we need many more to achieve our goal this year.”
This time 12 months ago, much like now, the temperature was dropping at night time, and this year the unwavering efforts of the volunteers might be compounded by the possibility of rain.
“If rain comes the homeless count continues forward, regardless. That said, some parts of Los Angeles that the volunteers have to venture out to are almost dirt tracks, so it will certainly help if the weather stays dry,” says Chapman, adding, “Last year, despite the cold, our volunteer numbers held pretty consistent with what we were expecting and we were able to conduct a successful count. So we’re hoping to do the same thing again this year, no matter what the weather throws at us.”
The goal of the “point-in-time” count is to get a snapshot of the unhoused population. By conducting it simultaneously across the region, officials hope to make it less likely to double count or miss individuals who move around. The number of individuals in shelters is also calculated on the same night.
Credit: Thomas Leffler
While the count is mandated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, it also helps officials to gain a better idea of the number of people unhoused together with demographic trends among the population and locations of concentration. This data is then used to inform local and regional efforts to address homelessness and can ultimately affect how resources are allocated.
Plus of course, with time comes experience and Chapman says that the count process is refined and improved every year. “There’s always things that we can learn and we’re always looking to improve the homeless count process, particularly for volunteers.”
“We’re bringing back the homeless count app that was created by Esri for us, but we’re also streamlining our check-in and check-out process for volunteers, making it easy for them and to ensure that they have starting points clearly mapped out. And that will make the numbers more accurate as time goes on,” he says.
According to Chapman, the company that designed the app also designed the tracking system complete with a real time dashboard. However, he says that one of the coolest enhancements this year is a pilot run of a new “geo fencing” feature.
“Last year some volunteers reported that they felt like they might have gone past their designated areas that weren’t a part of their census track and they wanted something that could alert them if they had.”
Results from the 2023 count showed that homelessness increased by about 9% countywide and by 45% the Santa Monica area. LAHSA released the results that showed the increase was driven almost entirely by huge spikes in the western and southern regions of the county, including the area covering Santa Monica. Nationwide, homelessness increased by about 12% last year.
Results of this year’s count will be available later in the year.
According to the LAHSA website, “Volunteering for the homeless count is one way community members can currently assist with efforts to address homelessness … The count would not be possible without the volunteers who come together across the county.”
To get involved, register by visiting the website theycountwillyou.org/volunteer and following the instructions to RSVP. For any additional details or information, you should email homelesscount@lahsa.org or call 213-683-3333.