Volunteers getting ready for the Homeless Count 2024 in Pasadena (Photo – W.K.)
Pasadena was the first city in California, and one of the first three cities in the nation, to conduct a dedicated Homeless Count in 1992.
By News Desk
Pasadena conducted the 2024 Point-In-Time Homeless Count on Tuesday night, January 23, from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm and the following day, January 24, from 6:00 to 8:00 am and from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Department of Housing and volunteer teams counted and surveyed people experiencing homelessness across the City’s entire geography. The Pasadena Police and Fire Departments provided critical support surveying the City’s parks, freeway embankments, and other hard-to-access locations.
The Pasadena Public Health Department, in partnership with Huntington Hospital, deployed two vaccine strike teams throughout the count to administer COVID-19 and flu vaccines, and to distribute Narcan overdose reversal kits. The teams received more requests for vaccines this year. The count relies on dynamic survey tools and dashboards embedded with GIS mapping technology which are developed by the City’s Department of Information Technology.
The count also includes those in shelters and transitional housing and concluded with a supplementary youth-specific count, which ran from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The results of the Homeless Count will be available by June 2024.
Dan Davidson, Homeless Count Coordinator, said “We are grateful to our nearly 200 volunteers who came together to form 41 teams that canvassed the City’s entire geography, including every library and park. Only with their help can we compile this critical information that guides the City’s strategic planning for homeless services.”
Homeless Count (Photo – City of Pasadena)
Planning for Homeless Services
The Homeless Count provides a “snapshot” of what the homeless population looks like on any given night. The information is used year-round to inform the strategic planning of homeless services in Pasadena. For example, in recent years, count data has shown seniors to be one of the fastest-growing groups among the homeless population. In response, the City has supported the development of Heritage Square South, a new supportive housing building for seniors exiting homelessness, which will provide homes to 69 seniors this spring.
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