Homelessness in SGV Down But Overall Number Increased in L.A. County

LOS ANGELES, CA - The number of homeless people in San Gabriel Valley decreased by more than 15 percent last year, but overal, Los Angeles County saw increase in homelessnes, according to results of the 2016 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count released Wednesday.

Los Angeles County saw a rise of 5.7 percent the number of homeless people over the past year to reach 46,874, according to the report. The figure is up from 44,359 in 2015, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The vast majority of the county's homeless -- 34,527 people -- are unsheltered, up from 31,025 in 2015.

Despite the overall increase, homelessness among veterans dropped by 30 percent across the county, from 4,362 in 2015 to 3,071 this year. In the city of Los Angeles, the number of homeless veterans fell to 1,617, down from 2,733 last year.

The city of Los Angeles overall, however, saw an 11 percent jump in the number homeless people, to 28,464, representing 65 percent of the county total, according to the count. Of the city's homeless, 21,338 are unsheltered. The San Fernando Valley saw a 35.2 percent increase, while the San Gabriel Valley had a 15.7 percent decrease.

Family homelessness throughout the county fell by 18 percent over the past year, the report found.

"L.A.'s success in significantly reducing veteran and family homelessness reinforces the importance of resources and collaborative system to deliver them," said LAHSA Executive Director Peter Lynn. "Homelessness responds to resources. When we have systemically applied city, county and federal resources, we see results. These are model programs to leverage and replicate in working with our city and county partners to increase homeless assistance resources and strategic investment through coordinated systems."

--City News Service, photo via Pixabay