November 17, 2021 11:31 AM
SANTA MONICA, Calif .– After a yearlong hiatus across Los Angeles County due to COVID-19, the Santa Monica homeless counter is back and set for January 26, 2022 to ensure a safe experience for the volunteer corps serving this important and driving compulsory activity.
Members of the Santa Monica Community interested in volunteering on January 26th can register now. Key changes to the 2022 census include the following:
- The training will be held virtually via video before January 26th. Volunteers can complete the necessary training at a time that is convenient for them.
- We ask the volunteers to form their own 3-4 person teams from their pod. Volunteers who serve on an individual basis are paired with others and must travel to the counting locations separately from the deployment site.
- Counting materials will be provided in a drive-up format in a location ready to be shared shortly.
“The Homeless Graf has long been one of my favorite evenings of the year because we have so much support to tackle our great challenge as a city and society,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “Thank you to the hundreds of people who will join the census, and to everyone in our community, I implore each of you to find ways to actively contribute to and learn more about our efforts to combat homelessness how our city is driving change to help people find the help they need. “
Everyone in the community is encouraged to learn why we count. The Homeless Count is a punctual count of people affected by homelessness, which is regionally approved by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) as a requirement of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Greater Los Angeles homeless counter information is used by policy makers and service providers to better understand and implement solutions to tackle homelessness. Here in Santa Monica, we use the information to understand both the number of people living without shelter and other trends, including the concentration of homeless people across the city. From there, the city and our service partners can focus resources on the areas with the greatest need. For example, in the 2019 census, the number of people without protection on the beach increased. This information allowed the city to focus an outreach team in this area, resulting in a proven decrease in beach homelessness during the 2020 census.
Details and registration under www.santamonica.gov/santa-monica-homeless-count.
To learn more about the city’s commitment to homelessness and recent investments, visit https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/new-investments-to-address-homelessness.
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Media contact
Constance Farrell
Public Information Officer
[email protected]
Categories
casing
Departments
Housing and business promotion
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