L.A. County Homeless Count 2020
On June 12, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) released the 2020 Homeless Count numbers – an annual analysis of estimated individuals experiencing homelessness in both L.A. County and the City of L.A.
LAFH staff assisted in the moving of 43 residents from the Paxton-Bradley encampment to hotel rooms as part of our Project Roomkey mission to provide housing stability and prevent COVID-19.
The 2020 data set shows a 13 percent increase in people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County (66,433 people), and a 14 percent increase in the City (41,290 people).
During the past year, our system has effectively moved about 23,000 people into permanent housing and helped prevent more than 6,000 from becoming homeless, but during that same time frame, an estimated 83,000 fell into homelessness.
As a 2020 homeless count correlation – about 207 people move out of homelessness every day, while 227 people become homeless daily.
The report captures a devastating picture of homelessness in L.A. from January 2020 (before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could be felt, measured, or responded to). Estimates for the grim effects of Coronavirus on individuals transitioning out of homelessness are pending as the national pandemic numbers continue to vary.
The report also captures the abhorrent reality of the result of systemic racism and the differences in racial disparity of Black individuals experiencing homelessness. According to the report, African American residents are 4 times more likely to experience homelessness.
The count results also come as protests across L.A. and throughout the nation force us to pay attention to the effects of systemic racism on policing, policy, and human services.
We stand in solidarity with Black people who are crying out simply to be treated as human beings. Homelessness is a direct byproduct of racism and you can see it play out in the disproportionate number of homeless Black Angelenos – when compared to the total population of Black people in Los Angeles.
Resident advocates, program assistants and LAFH stabilization team testing bridge housing residents for COVID-19 (courtesy of L.A. County).
As advocates in housing and homeless services, LA Family Housing is actively working against racist policies that disproportionately impact black people and other communities of color. We’re committed to creating change by providing access to safe and stable housing, and we invite the L.A. community to join us in our work to protect the most vulnerable and move more people home.
We at LA Family Housing are starting from the inside out, learning from our staff, members of our board, as well as our program participants to inform what needs to be changed both as an employer and as a service provider.
Changes begin when we acknowledge our own biases and are willing to make equitable changes for all.
In April 2018, LAHSA launched the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness with the purpose of examining the factors contributing to the over-representation of Black people among the population experiencing homelessness; identifying opportunities to increase racial equity within the homeless service delivery system; and developing recommendations to more effectively meet the needs of Black people experiencing homelessness.
The Committee developed a robust set of recommendations that aim to address barriers identified throughout the Committee’s work. The recommendations included in part:
Improve data collection, analysis, and collaborative research to better understand and track issues affecting Black people experiencing homelessness; Advance racially equitable policies, programs, and funding across institutions, including LAHSA, homeless service providers, and City and County agencies; and Expand capacity building and training opportunities to ensure service providers understand the impact of institutional racism and racial bias on Black people experiencing homelessness.
We believe that EVERYBODY deserves a home.
It’s our responsibility to examine the intersectionality of our unhoused neighbors and to assess the current demographics of our organization.
“LA Family Housing is beginning to apply a racial lens to understand our own numbers relative to housing placement of all participants, housing retention, our eviction trends, and our own internal hiring practices,” said LA Family Housing President and CEO, Stephanie Klasky-Gamer.
This is a heartbreaking time in so many ways, but there is also optimism in the pace and scale that LAFH, and the entire L.A. County system, responded to the homeless crisis during COVID-19.
The task before all of us now is to advocate for those federal, state, county, and city resources to remain dedicated to and focused on effective solutions.
We as an organization are pointed in the right direction – toward solution-oriented challenge management. Together, we’ll continue to move people home, provide supportive services, and work to end homelessness.
Resources:
Homelessness jumped 13% in L.A. County, 14% in the city before pandemic – L.A. Times
What Los Angeles’s Homeless Count Results Tell Us – New York Times
Report and Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness