The City of Malibu seeks community volunteers to assist with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) annual Homeless Count on January 22, 2020, 7 to 10 a.m. when thousands of volunteers will join the effort to enumerate the County’s homeless population.
“I hope you can join the many volunteers across the County who help with this important service to the community,” said Mayor Karen Farrer. “We can only make good policies and decisions when we have good information.”
The federally mandated Homeless Count is crucial to providing accurate data from the field needed to inform funding, resources and activities to address homelessness across the County.
The data gathered helps service providers, policy makers, local governments, elected officials and other stakeholders understand the geographic and demographic diversity of homelessness so that the types of services and housing provided are more effective and responsive to the needs in the community. It is also needed to enable the monitoring of progress in the efforts to address homelessness. The City of Malibu uses the data in the ongoing implementation of its Homelessness Strategic Plan.
Volunteers are asked to register in advance to ensure there are sufficient numbers of volunteers. No experience is necessary. Training will be provided the morning of the count, which will begin at 7:00 AM at Malibu City Hall, located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu CA 90265. Volunteers will be broken into groups and assigned an area to conduct the count from a vehicle while driving the area in a vehicle. Most volunteers will not need to get out of their vehicle or interact directly with homeless individuals.
To volunteer or for more information, visit www.TheyCountWillYou.org/volunteer and enter Malibu’s zip code, 90265. For more information about Malibu’s homeless initiatives, contact Sarah Kaplan at 310-456-2489, ext. 368 or SKaplan@MalibuCity.org or visit www.MalibuCity.org/Homeless.
Matt Myerhoff, Media Information Officer
