Los Angeles has seen its first decline in homelessness in six years and the first double-digit decrease in nine years.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) announced the results of the 2024 Homeless Point-In-Time Count, which hundreds of volunteers conducted across the region in late January of this year. This year’s count showed a 17 percent increase in the amount of people moved off the streets, according to a release from Mayor Karen Bass’ office.
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Bass declared homelessness an unprecedented emergency in Los Angeles on her first day in office. She has taken swift and active measures to combat this crisis:
- issued an executive order which has “accelerated affordable housing timelines by 75 percent.”
- launched Inside Safe, which “has cleared some of L.A.’s most entrenched tent and RV encampments in every corner of the city”
- spearheaded an “unprecedented effort to keep renters from losing their homes”
- Partnered with the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Children’s Law Center of California and The RightWay Foundation to help LA foster youth at risk for homelessness (announced Monday, July 8)
“For so many years, the count has shown increases in homelessness, and we have all felt that in our neighborhoods. But we leaned into change. And we have changed the trajectory of this crisis and have moved L.A. in a new direction,” said Bass.
“There is nothing we cannot do by taking on the status quo, putting politics aside, and rolling up our sleeves to work together. I want to thank the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, LAHSA, our state, federal and community partners and our service provider partners for locking arms to confront this crisis with the urgency that it requires. This is not the end, it is the beginning – and we will build on this progress, together.”
Officials are hopeful, but cautious and vigilant that the root causes of LA’s homelessness crisis continue to persist.
The California Housing Partnership’s 2024 Housing Needs Report for Los Angeles County stated that nearly 500,000 households do not have access to affordable housing. The report goes on to state that LA County renters need to earn $48.04 per hour, or 2.9 times the City of LA’s minimum wage, to afford the $2,498 average rent of a two-bedroom home.
“This year’s Homeless Count results give me hope,” stated Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, LAHSA CEO, in a release.
“One year is not enough to say we have turned the corner, but the numbers we are seeing are very encouraging. We must continue to work in collaboration on the life-saving efforts that are contributing to positive results.”
And those efforts are paying off with more interim and permanent housing placements as the LAHSA rehousing process is starting to move people more quickly from the streets to interim housing. From 2022 to 2023, street to interim housing placements through outreach increased by 47 percent and the number of people moving from interim housing to permanent housing increased by 25 percent.
Key Results from the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count
Los Angeles County:
- Homelessness estimate decreased by 0.27% to 75,312
- Unsheltered homelessness decreased by approximately 5.1% to 52,365 compared to 2023
- Shelter count increased by 12.7% to 22,94
- Permanent housing placements up 18% to an all-time high of 27,300 in 2023
City of Los Angeles:
- Homelessness estimate decreased by 2.2% to 45,252
- Unsheltered homelessness decreased by 10.4% to 29,275
- Shelter count increased 17.7%
