Over 75,000 people homeless in U.S. most populous county

LOS ANGELES, June 28 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 75,312 people are homeless in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, according to the results of the 2024 Homeless Count released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) on Friday.

The agency reported 52,365 unsheltered homeless people, those living outside in tents, cars, RVs and makeshift shelters, a year-on-year decrease of 5.1 percent, while the estimate for sheltered homeless people, those living in indoor programs, stood at 22,947, an increase of 12.7 percent.

The county's seat, the City of Los Angeles, saw its estimate for unsheltered homeless people decline to 29,275 or 10.4 percent, while the city's sheltered homeless people increased to 15,977 or 17.7 percent, according to LAHSA, the primary agency responsible for coordinating housing and social services for the homeless in the county.

"This year's Homeless Count results give me hope because they show that our unified approach and coordinated efforts have led to meaningful decreases in unsheltered homelessness," said Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of LAHSA, in a press release.

"One year is not enough to say we have turned the corner, but the numbers we are seeing are very encouraging. We must continue to work in collaboration on the life-saving efforts that are contributing to positive results," Kellum said.

For the first time in six years, the number of unhoused Angelenos went down, said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on social media platform X, adding "We must continue to work with urgency to save lives. There is hope in Los Angeles."

Los Angeles is home to one of the largest unhoused populations in the country. According to the 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to U.S. Congress, on a single night in 2023, roughly 653,100 people, or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States, were experiencing homelessness.