(L-R) Councilwoman Perez checking in Mayor Lee for the Homeless Count, Alhambra 2022
(Photo – Melissa Michelson)
I’d always been curious about the homeless count. This year, 2022, I finally got to participate.
By Melissa Michelson
Last night, Feb. 22, at 8:00 pm, I reported to the Alhambra Library where volunteers were getting situated.
Civic-minded and community-centered, the homeless count is an event where those that have the luxury of a roof over their heads can assist the county in locating those that don’t, so that appropriate funds and support can get apportioned to the homeless.
The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count happens every year during the nighttime hours when the unhoused are settling in for the night. The results of the LA County homeless count should be out in May.
Arrival
When I arrived at Alhambra’s launch point, I was pleased to see two councilwomen from Alhambra volunteering. I even got to ride with the mayor of Alhambra.
16 teams of 45 volunteers set out to cover all 24 census tracts of Alhambra. Some teams were given two tracts. Most were done in a few hours.
Navigation
In my team, I was the navigator with the map, crossing off each street as we drove it. Mayor Lee was the driver, Andrew entered the data in the app, and Aaron kept his eyes open, referred to the reference sheet, and was the official counter. It was everyone’s first time, and we were one of the last groups to come back. When we got back to the library at around 11pm, Andrew explained our long absence: “We were very thorough.”
Thorough we were – we drove every street in our tract, as well as all of the back alleys. We were not to talk to anyone or disturb them. In our boundaries, we only saw one homeless person, who was making his way along a major street.
Take away
I recommend everyone do the homeless count at least once. At the end, we each received a Certificate of Appreciation ‘for your commitment to improving our communities by assisting the homeless.”
I feel very lucky to be inside on this cold snap of a night, I feel closer both to my local community and to the greater Los Angeles community, as we leave no street unturned these next few days to hopefully make a difference to others in the community that are struggling and who are less fortunate than we are.
After an hour Zoom training and signing a waiver of liability, all you need to do is show up and the rest will be arranged for you. The volunteers will partner you up with a team if you need one, or you can arrive with your own crew. They give you a map and assign you an area, and they provide flashlights and yellow vests in case you need to venture out of the car and go into areas where a vehicle cannot go. Most of the time, however, you can expect to stay in your vehicle.
> To get you ready for next year, here’s a 17 minute training video from Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
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