They Count – Will You?
Los Angeles has the largest unsheltered homeless population in the country. We’re less than one week away from the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count (next Tuesday and Wednesday in other L.A. City & County regions, and THURSDAY, January 26, here in UNNC’s neighborhoods).
Every year, the Count – which basically is an annual census – helps officials better understand the number of unhoused individuals and also where our neighbors experiencing homelessness are, so the City can allocate resources to help them find both temporary and permanent homes. This effort is coordinated by LAHSA, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which is a joint powers agency of Los Angeles City and County. Your help is needed (along with thousands of other volunteers) for counting our unhoused neighbors – because everyone counts, no matter where they live.
All help is appreciated! To volunteer, please register here: https://www.theycountwillyou.org/volunteer
Although there are dozens of deployment sites throughout the city and county that still need volunteers to compile an accurate and complete count, we hope you can join with UNNC volunteers on Thursday at our local “SPA 6” West Adams site, at Holman United Methodist Church, 3320 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles 90018. The count begins at 8 p.m. but there will be training and other activities earlier. Many UNNC board members and stakeholders will be participating.
Either just put “90018” in the main registration portal above, then select “west adams count” or use this direct link to register:
https://www.theycountwillyou.org/adams_west_adams_count_20220127_20230126
How it works: Importantly, volunteers are encouraged to sign up in threesomes – family members, neighbors, friends, co-workers – to serve as a team. If that is not feasible for you, you will be matched up with a team at the deployment site. During the Count, one person is the driver, another the navigator and the third is the counter. There are also pre-Count training videos on the TheyCountWillYou.org website, and training is also available onsite. This count is a visual-only tally of everyone on the street visibly without shelter.
For more information, please visit the website or email homelesscount@lahsa.org.
