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This year’s homeless count numbers suggest that our coordinated emergency response is making a difference. Working with our local elected officials and partners has made real and visible progress in our communities.
After many years of increases in the homeless count, we have finally seen a 2.2% decrease in the City of LA and a .27% decrease in the County of LA in the past year, a meaningful change from previous trends, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA) 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Results. Similarly, permanent housing is up 18%, at an all-time high, with nearly 28,000 housing placements just last year.
Specifically, Service Planning Area (SPA) 5, home to St. Joseph Center and our neighbors, saw the most significant decrease in people experiencing homelessness of all eight SPAs, with a 19% decrease over the past year. Similarly, SPA 5 experienced a double-digit decline in unsheltered homelessness, signaling that our immediate housing efforts significantly impacted our communities. St. Joseph Center is one of the leading providers in Westside LA’s SPA 5, serving Beverly Hills Culver City, Malibu, Santa Monica, and neighborhoods within Los Angeles and unincorporated communities within LA County.
Unsheltered homelessness is down 5.1% in LA County and 12.7% within the City of LA. This is thanks to a strong alignment between local government and homelessness providers like St. Joseph Center, which helps get people off the streets and into immediate shelter.
While these numbers paint an encouraging picture, we know there is more work to do to support the thousands of people experiencing homelessness in our communities. We look forward to continuing to partner with our cities and County leaders to help achieve more housing improvements in the coming months.
“I’m proud of the good news of decreased homelessness in LA. The work we’re doing every day to prevent, address, and end homelessness is working. Our housing, outreach and engagement, mental health, and workforce development efforts are making a difference in the lives of thousands of people. We certainly have more work to do, but it feels like we’re heading in the right direction,” says Dr. Ryan J. Smith, President and CEO of St. Joseph Center.
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