For my homeless count report I looked at the Los Angeles Homeless Count Report of 2015. The 2015 Los Angeles Homeless Count, led by the LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), is the largest in the country. 5,500 volunteers participated in the 2015 count. There are four components of the count.
First there is the street count, where they count the unsheltered population. Then there is the shelter count, where they count the homeless population in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens, and vouchered hotels/motels. Thirdly, there is a demographic survey that gives a sample of unsheltered homeless individuals to better understand the characteristics and experiences of homeless persons. Lastly, there is a youth count to better understand and identify homeless youth. LAHSA’s roles and responsibilities to conduct the count included developing the demographic survey in collaboration with the community, managing and completing the sheltered and unsheltered counts, assessing inclusion of youth count data in overall estimates, and reviewing and completing the final analysis of the results and preparing reports. The Carolina Survey Research Lab also collaborated with the LAHSA. They provided guidance and direction in methodology and data collection processes, analyzing initial data from the four Count components, and produce estimates and preliminary results.