DUARTE (CNS) - Duarte is looking for volunteers to assist in its portion of the county's 2022 homeless count, the city announced today.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority officials and volunteers will conduct the annual homeless survey throughout the county between Jan. 25 and Jan. 27, with the Duarte/Irwindale area's survey taking place Jan. 25.
The countywide count will be the first since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the 2021 survey.
The Duarte/Irwindale count will begin at 8 p.m. Jan. 25 and conclude at midnight.
Volunteers will meet at the Duarte Senior Center at 1610 E. Huntington Drive before going out in teams to conduct the count, with social distancing guidelines in place.
Duarte officials said volunteers are encouraged to sign up as teams of two or more to allow teams to stay in their ``Count Team'' bubble with people they are familiar with. If volunteers do not have teammates, individual sign-ups are still welcome.
For more information or to volunteer, visit the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count website at https://www.theycountwillyou.org/duarte_count_irwindale_20220125.
The annual county count -- known as the point-in-time count -- 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.
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.
The county received an exemption from HUD and was not required to conduct a 2021 count due to the pandemic. The decision was made after LAHSA determined it was not safe to gather 8,000 volunteers, given guidance from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and taking into account stay-at-home orders and curfews at the time.