The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is looking for 6,000 volunteers to assist with the 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, which will take place countywide over three nights Jan. 27-29.

Volunteers can register at TheyCountWillYou.org to assist in the count. Dozens of deployment centers across Los Angeles County will host the nation’s largest street count of homeless community members, representatives said.

“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 LAHSA 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.”

The last homeless count in 2013 found more than 39,000 men, women and children. 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.