“Hope the Mission,” announced Roxanne Hernandez loudly as she approached a makeshift dwelling on the side of the road. “Anyone home?”
This night was unlike her usual shift as a homeless outreach worker at the nonprofit Hope the Mission. On Jan. 23, she participated in the annual homeless count, organized by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
“Tonight is extra special because, across all of LA County, we will be counting individuals experiencing homelessness,” said Ken Craft, Hope the Mission CEO and founder.
“It’s important because there’s federal funding, there’s state funding, that is all attached to how many people are experiencing homelessness and how many people need help.”
The count helps LAHSA estimate how many people are experiencing homelessness across Los Angeles County, and what areas are most affected.
Teams of typically three volunteers – a driver, a navigator and a counter – are assigned a mapped area in which they count how many people they see experiencing homelessness. In an app, they note the location, the number of people and what kind of structure – makeshift, tent, RV, etc.
From Hope the Mission, headquartered in Canoga Park, 23 volunteers covered 15 mapped areas in the San Fernando Valley.
The Count
The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol joined Hope the Mission outreach workers Roxanne Hernandez, Maria Hernandez and Armando Covarrubias as they counted an area in Canoga Park.
Typically volunteers who participate in the count are instructed not to engage with individuals but rather do a visual count from the safety of their vehicles. Because these three volunteers are trained homeless outreach workers, they approached everyone directly.
The first row of tents they pulled up to had items scattered around the surrounding sidewalk. The outreach team announced themselves and asked how many individuals lived in each tent.
The first tent housed a contentious couple. A man gave a friendly wave from the second tent. A woman who was visiting the third tent asked the team to come to where she resided, behind the Salvation Army. She told them her belongings were all soaked in the recent rains.
“We will bring you some dry blankets tomorrow,” said Roxanne Hernandez.
“I wish we brought some resources,” said Maria Hernandez once they were back in the van, looking at the empty cargo space that would typically be filled with tents, blankets, food and other essentials they pass out while doing outreach.
With an eagle eye, the two women spotted an inconspicuous structure behind a bus stop. Upon inspection, it was a large makeshift dwelling. Although nobody was “home,” they noted that it was new.
Maria Hernandez pointed out a family living out of their car in the parking lot of an apartment complex, but Covarrubias said they couldn’t count it because the car was on private property.
After circling the perimeter of the designated area, the van wove through the small streets and alleyways they were given to follow on a shaded map – noting tents, makeshift structures, a row of RVs and a man sitting cross-legged on the ground in an alleyway without any belongings.
The Realities of the System
The outreach team pulled up next to a red SUV parked alongside the greenway beside the Orange Line. A well-put-together woman was rearranging the pile of belongings in the backseat.
“Are you homeless?” asked Roxanne Hernandez through the rolled-down passenger window.
“Yes,” the woman skeptically replied.
“Is it just the two of you?” asked Roxanne Hernandez gesturing to the man in the passenger seat of the SUV.
“And my two kids,” said the woman with a tremor in her voice. “Who called you?”
The outreach team explained they are from Hope the Mission and are doing a homeless count. They handed the woman a business card and asked how they could help.
The woman’s demeanor immediately changed. She walked up to the window of the car and began explaining her story.
“We both work… and you know, as much as we try to save they’re asking for so much money to give for a down payment [security deposit] … Even if I work full time, it’s not enough,” said the woman.
“My sister lives right here in the corner apartments, and she’s keeping my kids in the meantime. She doesn’t know that I’m living in the car. She thinks I’m working as a live-in [caretaker].”
Despite applying for services, the woman was told they didn’t meet the requirements. The man, who she described as her “brother,” is undocumented from Nicaragua, and wouldn’t be able to join her if she got a single room for herself and her kids.
“I can’t leave him out in the streets,” she said.
“Call us tomorrow, maybe about nine-ish. And then we’ll see what we can do, what we can help you out with,” said Covarrubias.
“I will!” proclaimed the woman with tears welling up in her eyes.
As the team drove away, they began brainstorming potential solutions. Covarrubias said it seemed to be a problem-solving matter but explained that they needed more information about the family’s particular situation to know the best option.
“We’ll get more details tomorrow about their situation,” Covarrubias said hopefully.
When asked if the outreach team often encounters people in similar predicaments, the team said it is not uncommon but that every situation is different and there is a lot of bureaucracy to navigate.
“Some people are ready to get help that same day that we make contact with them. But you gotta go through all these processes,” said Covarrubias. “It’s frustrating sometimes.”
Hopeful for the New Year
Despite last year’s increased numbers, Craft remains hopeful that this year there will be a decline in the homeless count.
With 22 interim housing facilities currently operating and 11 more being built by the end of 2024, Craft claims that Hope the Mission has moved more people into sheltered housing than ever before.
The count will indicate if efforts to house people can match the number of people entering homelessness – often due to an increased cost of living and a lack of permanent housing.
“We know that permanent housing and supportive housing is the ultimate end game, but the streets can’t be the waiting room for permanent housing,” said Craft.
“We cannot leave people outside. The longer we leave people outside, the worse they get … and once people give up, it’s a long road back to sanity and wholeness.”