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21h ago

Los Angeles County Homelessness Drops for Second Straight Year

Encampment resolution programs have cut street homelessness by nearly 10%, prompting the board to shift hundreds of millions into a new homelessness agency.

A court-ordered audit has revealed a deep lack of financial oversight in Los Angeles’ homelessness spending, raising concerns about the mismanagement of billions of taxpayer dollars. The audit, released by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, found that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and city officials failed to accurately track expenditures, verify services, or ensure accountability among vendors. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The 2025 point-in-time count recorded 72,308 homeless people in Los Angeles County, down 4% from 2024 and marking the first back-to-back declines since 2005.
  • Unsheltered homelessness fell by 9.5% countywide and by 7.9% in the city of Los Angeles, driven by Mayor Karen Bass’s Inside Safe initiative and the county’s Pathway Home.
  • The sheltered population rose by 8.5% in the county and by 4.7% in the city, reflecting expanded interim housing placements in shelters, hotels and motels.
  • Chronic homelessness declined by 22%, equating to nearly 6,000 fewer long-term unsheltered individuals on county streets.
  • Following audits of LAHSA oversight, the Board of Supervisors diverted hundreds of millions in Measure A funding to a new homelessness department scheduled to launch in 2026 even as potential cuts to federal rental subsidies threaten future permanent housing placements.