Encino Chamber and Neighborhood Council Partner on Homeless Count

February saw the completion of the 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count and Encino's count was rated one of the most successful. More than 40 volunteers participated in the Encino census including staff from City Councilmember Nithya Raman's office and State Assemblyman Jess Gabriel's office.

This year, the Encino Neighborhood Council partnered with the Encino Chamber of Commerce, Valley Beth Shalom and Councilmember Raman’s office on the project.

"We successfully completed our goal of an efficient and safe count,"said Encino Neighborhood Council(ENC) president Patricia Bates who served as project coordinator. “The count is an essential step in making sure our area receives its share of government funding and support for addressing the homelessness issue."

Results are tabulated and reported later in the year by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. All of the city's neighborhood counts are delivered the the city of Los Angeles to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Covering the event from the media were the Encino Enterprise and the Los Angeles Daily News.

Joining ENC president Bates and Encino Chamber president Waltona Manion were Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel’s field deputy Sarah Martin and district director Valerie Berkley, Encino Enterprise editor Katie Sterling, Neighborhood Council vice chair Victoria Miller, NC board member Alex Garay, Valley Beth Shalom community coordinator Nitzan Barled along with City Councilmember Nithya Raman and her operations manager Walker King and assistant Mashael Majid, field deputy Kevin Sanchez-Morales, senior homelessness deputy Sarah Tanberg and deputy Stephanie Caridad and Blaze Pizza owner Ben Salehi.

“It was a great alliance of people and organizations who all care about the Encino community,” said Encino Chamber president Manion. “Having local leadership support was crucial as the data is also used in planning services and programs to the homeless. The Encino Chamber was very gratified to partner with such a great team."

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