Recently, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) released the results of the 2018 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, a countywide annual effort that engages thousands of local volunteers to estimate the number of Angelenos without safe, stable housing. This year’s count showed a total of 53,195 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, including 8,317 people in the South L.A. area alone.
The full Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count report can be found on the LAHSA website. EVERYONE IN’s analysis of the count, how it matches up with the solutions in place to end homelessness, along with progress to date and future milestones can be found at EveryoneInLA.org.
EVERYONE IN released the following statements from United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ President & CEO Elise Buik and HOPICS, a local partner that has been hard at work every day connecting homeless individuals to the services, housing and prevention they need to stay off the streets for good:
“Our confidence is undeterred, as we have seen through the growing public will in polls and votes to end homelessness. We have a plan that focuses on prevention, local housing, accessible services, and neighbors standing up to be part of the solution. It’s the right plan for the job, smart, comprehensive, and big enough to meet the challenges we face. But we need everyone in to make our vision a reality. Today’s homeless count gives us 8,317 reasons to maintain the urgency our work demands in the South L.A. area.”—Elise Buik, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles
“The homeless count data is important to help us understand the full scope of this issue and provides valuable sub regional and demographic information to inform resource allocation. I think it is critically important, though, that everyone remember that the data is not an indication that work isn’t being done to address homelessness. In fact thousands of people experiencing homelessness are moved into quality permanent housing throughout the year; and there is an unprecedented heavy lift through public-private collaboration to significantly reduce the number of our homeless neighbors. The data reminds us that we truly need to have Everyone In to solve this problem.”—Veronica Lewis, Director, SSG/HOPICS
For more information, visit HOPICS.org.
For more information, visit UnitedWayLA.org.
For additional information about EVERYONE IN, visit EveryoneInLA.org.
