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VOL. 10,
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LA County homeless count getting underway after COVID delay By City News Service
F
ollowing a one-month postponement due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, the 2022 Greater Los Angeles Point-in-Time Homeless Count got underway Tuesday evening -- with volunteers spreading out to get an accurate count of the number of unhoused people in the area. The count will take place over three nights beginning Tuesday, starting in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys. On Wednesday, the count was in West L.A., Southeast L.A. and the South Bay area. Today, the counters fanned out in the Antelope Valley, Metro L.A. and South L.A. The effort is essential to understanding how large the region's homelessness crisis has become. It must be conducted by Continuum of Care providers to receive federal funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This year's count will be the county's first since 2020, as last year's was canceled when LAHSA determined it was not safe to gather 8,000
volunteers amid stay-athome orders and curfews due to COVID-19. The county received an exemption from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and was not required to conduct a 2021 count. This year's count was originally planned for Jan. 25-27, but the county's surge in COVID cases, fueled by the Omicron variant, forced a change in plans. "While we work to ensure an accurate homeless count, we cannot ignore the surging number of positive COVID-19 cases across our region," LAHSA Executive Director Heidi Marston said on Jan. 14, when the postponement was announced. "This decision is our best path to ensure the accuracy of the homeless count without putting the health and safety of persons experiencing homelessness, volunteers and the community at risk." LAHSA had already made design changes to this year's count due to COVID-19, even before the Omicron variant surge
| Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
forced the postponement. The changes include moving deployment sites outdoors, moving volunteer training sessions online, encouraging volunteers to minimize cross-group interactions, requiring masks and encouraging volunteers to be vaccinated.
"The homeless count is an essential tool in giving us a point-in-time snapshot of homelessness. Data from the count is used to inform the delivery of services and programs for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles," Marston said.
According to the 2020 count, the county's homeless population increased by 12.7% over the previous year, while the city of Los Angeles' homeless population jumped by 14.2%. In January 2019, Los Angeles County had 58,936
people experiencing homelessness, but by January 2020, the number rose to 66,433. The city of Los Angeles counted 36,165 in 2019 and 41,290 in 2020. Results of the 2022 count are expected to be made public by LAHSA over the summer.
LA Pride Parade returns June 12 with new route in Hollywood By City News Service
T
he LA Pride Parade, canceled for the past two years, is returning and taking a new route in the community where the movement started. The LA Pride Parade will
be June 12 and centered in Hollywood, a shift from its traditional route in West Hollywood, it was announced Tuesday. The LA Pride Parade, produced by Christopher Street West, has been described as the second
largest pride parade in the nation. It was canceled in 2020, in what would have been its 50th anniversary, because of COVID-19 precautions. The parade was canceled again in 2021 because of COVID-19 concerns.
The parade in June will be broadcast live on KABC Channel 7. "LA Pride is thrilled to come together this year to commemorate the historic anniversary at the parade's first and original location," Gerald Garth, vice president
of programs and initiatives, said in a statement. "As a mission-driven and community-centered nonprofit organization, CSW recognizes that LGBTQ+ experiences of Los Angeles are broader than just one neighborhood. Consider-
ing feedback gathered since the pandemic began, we are committed to creating experiences and access to our entire community, including many of those who have
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