Number of homeless residents in Los Angeles County jumps by 9% in annual count

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER
Associated Press

The number of homeless residents counted in Los Angeles County has spiked again, increasing by 9% since last year. Results were released Thursday from a tally conducted in January. It found 75,518 people were homeless on any given night across LA County, compared with 69,144 in 2022. About 46,260 were within the city of Los Angeles. Since 2015, homelessness has increased by 70% in the county and 80% in the city. Mayor Karen Bass says the numbers emphasize the need to treat homelessness as an emergency. Bass said this month that her program that offers homeless people motel rooms and a path to permanent housing has over 14,000 enrollees so far.