The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is calling for 6,000 volunteers to assist with the 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, which will take place countywide over three nights from January 27 to 29.

The Santa Clarita Valley count will take place the evening of Jan. 29.

Volunteers should register at TheyCountWillYou.org to assist in their community.  Dozens of deployment centers across LA County will host the nation’s largest street count of homeless community members.

“The 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count is a critical opportunity to gain information about the size and scope of the challenge we face to house community residents experiencing homelessness,” said Executive Director Peter Lynn.  “We use this information to better target our homeless service resources.  Volunteers will make a difference in their community, and the lives of their homeless neighbors, by committing four hours of their time.”

LA’s last Homeless Count in 2013 found more than 39,000 men, women and children.

The Homeless Count will cover L.A. County as follows:

* Tuesday, January 27 (8:00PM), San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles County

* Wednesday, January 28 (8:00PM), West Los Angeles and South Bay

* Thursday, January 29 (6:00AM), Antelope Valley

* Thursday, January 29 (8:00PM), San Fernando Valley/Santa Clarita Valley, Metro Los Angeles and South Los Angeles

Volunteers will be dispatched from 87 regional deployment centers to targeted census tracts throughout the county to record the number of homeless people, vehicles used as homes and homeless encampments observed.  Volunteers select their preferred deployment center when they register at TheyCountWillYou.org.

The Count will follow definitions of homelessness established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which include people living in places not meant for human habitation such as cars, parks, sidewalks and abandoned buildings.  A simultaneous count by service provider staff will enumerate homeless individuals and family members staying in emergency shelters and other homeless programs.

In conjunction with the three-night street and shelter count, LAHSA will perform a detailed demographic survey to collect information critical in planning and assigning resources for homeless programs and services.  Demographic data will include such data as age, gender, ethnicity, individual and family homelessness, duration of homelessness, and veteran status.  Additional demographic data seeks to identify reasons why individuals became homeless, services utilized and benefits received.

The volunteer registration website is  TheyCountWillYou.org.

If you have any questions, please contact HomelessCount@lahsa.org.

About the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is a joint powers authority of the City and County of Los Angeles, created in 1993 to address homelessness in Los Angeles County. LAHSA is the lead agency in the HUD-funded Los Angeles Continuum of Care, and coordinates and manages over $70 million annually in federal, state, county and city funds for programs providing shelter, housing and services to men, women and children experiencing homelessness. For more information about LAHSA, visit: www.lahsa.org.