__________________
______________________________
__________________
______________________________
Courtesy Homeless Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA—Today, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn joined local leaders to reveal the 2018 Homeless Count Results which, for the first time in four years, show a decrease in homelessness in LA County. The results show a 3% decrease in homelessness since the last count as well as a 16% decrease in the number of chronically homeless individuals and an 18% decrease in veteran homelessness.
“We are still in the early stages of implementing our homeless initiatives, but these numbers show that our strategies are the right ones and we are beginning to make progress,” said Supervisor Hahn. “These results should give us the confidence to double down on our efforts. There are still more than 53,000 people on the streets and they should know that help is on the way.”
Supervisor Hahn coauthored the motion to put Measure H on the ballot. Measure H, a quarter-cent sales tax which passed last March, has since been used to contribute $259 million toward a countywide effort to provide services and housing for homeless residents.
“These results give us a lot of statistics about the current population of homeless residents. But one thing I think we can all celebrate is the significant decrease in veterans experiencing homelessness,” said Supervisor Hahn.
While the latest results provide some good news, they also show that the forces driving people into homelessness are as strong as ever. Despite the fact that a record number of homeless individuals were able to move into homes last year, a record number of people fell into homelessness as well.
“Moving forward, our biggest challenge won’t be funding. It will be NIMBYism,” continued Hahn. “We need to build more supportive housing and homes people can afford across the County and we need to realize that if we are ever going to solve this problem in a big way, we need every community to commit to being part of the solution.”
