The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is the lead agency responsible for completing the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. The Count helps LAHSA demonstrate our area’s need for housing, shelter and service programs to the federal government and is essential to our efforts to reduce and end homelessness.

Many Neighborhood Councils participated in the 2015 Opt-In Program. The Opt-In Program gives cities, communities and other jurisdictions the opportunity to obtain locally-specific data at a high confidence level. Participants agree to full enumeration of every agreed-upon census tract within each City/Community. This provides more granular data and can substantially aid efforts to evaluate existing homeless services and plan for future measures to address local homelessness in each community. In 2015, 248 cities and communities enumerated all of their census tracts. Using the results from the LAHSA shelter and youth counts, cities are able to estimate a Point-in-Time number of the homeless families and individuals who are sheltered and unsheltered in their jurisdictions.

Several Neighborhood Councils have already opted in for 2016:

  • Greater Wilshire NC
  • Historic Highland Park NC
  • Mid City NC
  • Mid City West NC
  • Olympic Park NC
  • Palms NC
  • Rampart Village NC
  • South Robertson NC
  • Sylmar NC
  • West Los Angeles NC

This year, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (EmpowerLA) has partnered with LAHSA to support the efforts of all Neighborhood Councils interested in volunteering for the Count. We have created a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a process for participation specifically for Neighborhood Councils. Please click here for more information on how to get your NC involved and how to participate by joining the Mayor’s Volunteer Corps.