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Two hundred volunteers are needed to help count Santa Clarita Valley’s homeless population on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. The Point-In-Time Homeless Count, organized by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), will begin at two locations: The Centre, located at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway, and Real Life Church, located at 23841 Newhall Ranch Road. To volunteer, please register at TheyCountWillYou.org.

Volunteers will be paired into teams and drive to designated areas within Santa Clarita Valley to conduct visual tallies of individuals who are homeless. Volunteer counters and drivers will receive training and materials on the day of the count. The time commitment is roughly three hours. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age.

Since 2005, LAHSA has been coordinating the Point-In-Time Homeless Count across Los Angeles County. This count includes 85 cities and the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, excluding the cities of Glendale, Long Beach and Pasadena. Last year’s count identified approximately 47,000 homeless individuals and families, unsheltered and sheltered, living in Los Angeles County.

The results of the annual count are utilized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine the amount of funds that should be allocated to local homeless programs.

To volunteer, please register at TheyCountWillYou.org. For questions, please call the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority at (213) 683-3333 or Jennifer Del Toro, Administrative Analyst for the city of Santa Clarita, at (661) 286-4030.