LOS ANGELES (CNS) – With about two weeks before the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) conducts its annual homeless count, officials encouraged people Monday, Jan. 5, to volunteer across the county for the count.
The point-in-time count is scheduled for Jan. 20-22. In October, LAHSA began registration of volunteers with the goal of recruiting 6,500 people – and, as of Monday, there were 1,500 people registered.
While the figure is below the agency’s mark, LAHSA spokesman Christopher Yee told City News Service in an email sign-ups typically accelerate as the count dates approach. He added, “an additional 3,200 people will help ensure the job is completed smoothly.”
Volunteers can sign up at count.lahsa.org.
Each January, thousands of volunteers join LAHSA to conduct the unsheltered count, covering more than 4,000 square miles across LA County. Working in small groups, volunteers tally the number of people, tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles they see in their assigned census tracts.
The data collected informs how the rehousing system directs funding, housing and services throughout the region, according to LAHSA.
“During last year’s fires, LAHSA primarily focused on assisting people who were experiencing unsheltered homelessness or were in interim housing sites located near an evacuation zone. We will monitor how the displacement of unhoused individuals after last year’s emergency may impact this year’s count,” Yee wrote in his email.
The annual count provides data that illuminates the scope and nature of homelessness in the LA region. That information guides policymakers and service administrators in making decisions about strategies to best address homelessness.
“As lead of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, LAHSA is committed to bringing government and service provider partners together to shape an effective, efficient rehousing system that brings unhoused Angelenos off the streets,” Yee wrote in his email.
The 2026 homeless count will begin Jan. 20 in the San Fernando Valley and Metro area of LA. The following day, Jan. 21, volunteers are scheduled to fan out across the San Gabriel Valley and East LA.
On the final day, Jan. 22, volunteers are expected to count unhoused individuals in the Antelope Valley, West LA, South LA and the South Bay/Harbor region.
In addition to the unsheltered count, the Greater LA Homeless Count also covers the youth and shelter count.
The youth count is conducted throughout January in partnership with youth service organizations, while volunteers and LAHSA officials are expected to conduct the shelter and housing inventory count on Jan. 21.
Officials with the University of Southern California began a demographic survey of unsheltered individuals in December, and it will continue through March.