LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The total number of people experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area decreased slightly in 2024 after five years of steady increases, according to results from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Homeless Count released Friday.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a joint powers agency between the city and county of Los Angeles, announced the figures at a press conference Friday morning, detailing data collected during its annual point-in-time survey conducted by hundreds of volunteers across the region from Jan. 24-26.
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Reportedly:
–The county’s homeless population for 2024 is 75,312, down from 2023’s 75,518, a decrease of 0.27%.
–The homeless population in Los Angeles will decrease by 2.2%, from 46,260 in 2023 to 45,252 in 2024.
— Los Angeles County saw a 5.1% decrease in homeless people compared to last year, while shelter numbers increased by 12.7%.
— Los Angeles’ citywide homeless population fell by about 10.7%, while the number of shelters increased by 17.7%.
Officials attribute the downward trend to “unprecedented policy coordination and investment” by city, county, state and federal governments, according to Paul Rubenstein, LAHSA’s associate director of external relations.
The results signal a new direction for the county and city in how they address homelessness, which has seen steady increases since 2018, with the county’s homeless count at 52,765 and the city’s homeless count at 31,285.
As more homeless people move into shelters and other temporary housing, Rubenstein said officials are “cautiously optimistic about the direction of the homelessness issue across Los Angeles County” and are in a position to get more people off the streets and into permanent housing.
“For many years, statistics have shown an increase in homelessness and we have all felt it in our neighborhoods,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement shortly after the latest figures were released.
“But we embraced change, and we changed the trajectory of this crisis and set Los Angeles in a new direction. … This is not the end, it’s the beginning. We will build on this progress, together.”
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn released a statement saying, “For the first time in years, we have fewer people sleeping on the streets and more people in shelters. We are focused on our shelters and making good progress in persuading people to come to our shelters. The next step is to build more permanent supportive housing and invest in long-term solutions to this crisis.”
Board Chair and Supervisor Lindsay Horvat called the results “a validation, not a victory,” adding that “urgent action must continue in every community and at every level of government in Los Angeles County to bring our homeless neighbors.”
The study also noted a decrease in chronic homelessness in the LA Continuum of Care, which covers most of Los Angeles County except for the cities of Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale. The number of chronically homeless people — a term used to describe individuals who have a disability and have been homeless for more than a year — decreased by 6.8% compared to 2023, the report said. Of those, about 9.4% were living unsheltered and 7.5% were living in shelters.
“Our coordinated efforts are moving forward, and we need to come together and do more than just move people into temporary housing,” Rubenstein said. “The rehousing system has also gained a lot of momentum this year.”
He added: “If we continue on this path, if we can prevent someone else from becoming homeless today, we could end homelessness in just a few years.”
Additionally, the 2024 study found that family homelessness increased by 2.2%, even though many families are living in temporary housing. Homelessness among transition-age youth ages 16-24 who have moved out of the foster care system decreased by 16.2%, and homelessness among veterans decreased by 22.9%.
About 22% of homeless people report experiencing a serious mental illness and another 24% of homeless people report experiencing a substance use disorder, both figures down compared to 2023 and 2022, LAHSA reported.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement that the region is “beginning to bend the curve.”
Veronica Lewis, director of the Integrated Care System for Homeless Assistance Programs, which oversees the county’s Special Planning Area No. 6 (South Los Angeles), said in a statement that it’s clear that with sustained resources, “we can envision a future where we end homelessness in Los Angeles County.”
“Our system helps thousands of individuals and families in Los Angeles County find their homes each year, and we see this especially in reducing unhoused homelessness and homelessness among veterans. Thanks to efforts like Mayor Bass’ Inside Safe and the county’s Pathway Home, we have renewed focus, better coordination and stronger commitment to solving homelessness,” Jennifer Haack Dietz, CEO of PATH, which provides housing in the region, said in a statement.
Following the results of the 2023 Homelessness Assessment, Los Angeles County and city officials have committed to a collaborative approach to reducing homelessness and placing unhoused people into temporary and permanent housing.
In December 2022, Bass launched the Inside Safe initiative as an effort to reduce tents and other encampments on the city’s streets and get homeless people into temporary housing. Bass and the Los Angeles City Council are also implementing programs aimed at increasing housing construction, increasing the number of shelter beds, and preserving tiny home villages, transitional housing sites, and other housing facilities with the goal of getting homeless people into permanent housing.
County officials introduced a program similar to Inside Safe called Pathway Homes in 2023.
The 2024 homelessness survey was conducted one year after the implementation of Inside Safe, which had conducted 34 camp outreach activities and placed approximately 2,087 people into temporary housing. Some program participants returned to homelessness, but 329 moved into permanent housing.
The LA Times reported that Inside Safe has helped rescue an additional 722 people from homelessness in recent months, while the county’s Pathway Homes had conducted 10 camps by mid-January, placing 449 people in temporary housing. Together, the two programs have helped place about 634 people into permanent housing.
LASHA officials noted that Measure HHH, the $1.2 billion bond measure approved by Los Angeles voters in 2016, played a major role in creating supportive and affordable housing and was partly responsible for the results of the 2024 homelessness assessment.
Long Beach’s 2024 census found a total of 3,376 people experiencing homelessness in the city, a decrease of 71 people compared to the 2023 census. The 2022 homeless census showed 3,296 people experiencing homelessness in the city.
Overall, homelessness in Long Beach increased by 62% from 2020 to 2022. Pasadena’s 2024 census showed the number of homeless people remained stable at 556 compared to 2023.
Jose Herrera, City News Service