Volunteers for the annual Homeless Count will gather at TV City. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is asking people to register for the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, which will occur from Jan. 24-26.

“The annual Homeless Count helps us better understand the needs of our neighbors experiencing homelessness so that we can align our resources to best address those needs,” said Stephen David Simon, interim executive director of LAHSA. “We need thousands of people across the county to join us in January to ensure as accurate a count as possible.”

Thousands of volunteers will spread out across the 4,000 square miles of Los Angeles County to conduct the unsheltered count. Traveling in groups of four, volunteers will tally the number of unhoused individuals, tents, vehicles and make-shift shelters they see in their assigned census tract.

The Mid City West Neighborhood Council will conduct the Homeless Count in the local area on Thursday, Jan. 26 and is seeking volunteers. Television City, at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, will serve as the base of operations during the local count. A series of virtual training sessions are planned during the next three weeks, and participants are required to attend at least one session. For information, email board@midcitywest.org, or visit midcitywest.org.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the count will begin in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. Volunteers in East Los Angeles and West Los Angeles will count on Wednesday, Jan. 25, and the count will conclude on Thursday, Jan. 26, in the Antelope Valley, as well as central and south Los Angeles.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires a biennial point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness. In 2016, LAHSA started holding the Homeless Count annually to provide improved analysis of trends involving people experiencing homelessness. Government agencies, including LAHSA, use the data collected during the count to develop strategies to end homelessness and determine where to allocate funding and resources.

LAHSA depends on its volunteer base to conduct the Homeless Count. This year, the agency seeks volunteers for 8,000 shifts. For volunteer, visit theycountwillyou.org.