The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count returned on Tuesday, and organizers have made some changes to previous years’ efforts.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority announced the use of a new counting app and the hire of a demographer and two data scientists, among other changes.
The moves follow several years of struggles for the count, including cancellation due to the pandemic and questions about its accuracy.
The count, which helps determine the allocation of funding and services, revealed nearly 42,000 unhoused people in 2022, up 1.7% from 2020.
The high numbers of homeless people resulted in states of emergency being declared by the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The count began in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys on Tuesday, then moved to East and West Los Angeles for Wednesday, and South L.A., Metro L.A. and the Antelope Valley for Thursday.
With thousands of volunteers helping with the count, the final numbers won’t be ready for several months.
Anyone interested in helping with the homeless count can visit theycountwillyou.org where volunteers can sign up.