Encino Homeless Count Slated For Feb. 22; Census Goes Digital

The Encino Neighborhood Council will be conducting the annual census of the homeless population in Encino the evening of February 22nd. The undertaking is part of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) 2022 Greater Los Angeles Point-in-Time (PIT) Homeless Count.

According to Encino Neighborhood Council(ENC) president Patricia Bates, this year's count will go digital as the city LAHSA has developed a mobile app that uploads data collected to a central server instead of returning paper sheets to local sites for manual tallying. Using the new app will improve data gathering and quality assurance processes while limiting in-person contact.

The Encino census is still accepting volunteers which will take place in the evening. The ENC is working with sponsors the Encino Chamber of Commerce, Valley Beth Shalom and Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office on the project. Volunteers can sign up at www.theycountwillyou.org for zip code 91316. For more information, contact Pat Bates at president@encinonc.org.

Participating in the count will be Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, City Councilmember Nithya Raman, Encino Enterprise publisher Katie Sterling, Neighborhood Council vice chair Victoria Miller, community coordinator Nitzan Barled, Valley Beth Shalom and Encino Chamber president Waltona Manion. ENC president Bates is serving project manager.

“This is a critical undertaking so having local leadership support is important,” said Bates. “These counts serve as a means of determining federal funding to help our communities address homelessness. The data is also used in planning services and programs to the homeless in Los Angeles.”

Blaze Pizza Encino, Lusy’s Mediterranean Café and NORMS restaurant are sponsoring a special thank-you packet for count volunteers.

“In 2020, the last time the count could safely be conducted, 66,000 people were found to be living on the street in tents, makeshift dwellings, and vehicles across Los Angeles County, “ said Encino Chamber president Waltona Manion. “So this count is an essential step in effectively quantifying and understanding the issue.”

The counts are delivered to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).The Homeless Count will be conducted the night of February 22 for the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys; February 23 for West Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, and the South Bay; and February 24 for Antelope Valley, Metro Los Angeles, and South Los Angeles.

Given the impact of COVID-19, Bates said the project has instituted a number of safety precautions to help support the volunteer efforts. These include creating online volunteer training and establishing outdoor deployment sites. At many sites, volunteers will not even leave their cars to pick up their count packets. Volunteers have been encouraged to sign up as a “safety bubble” of two to three people and arrive at the deployment sites together to minimize cross-group interactions. Volunteers will be required to use masks.

“Our objective is to ensure the accuracy of the Homeless Count and also to protect the health and safety of both our volunteers and the homeless,” said Bates.

Last year, the survey’s main component, the unsheltered street count, could not be conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination availability enabled the resumption of the count for 2022 with appropriate precautions.

Since 2016, the Greater Los Angeles Homeless PIT Count has been conducted annually to gain a better understanding of homelessness across the county and to support applications for federal funding. HUD requires that all communities conduct a census of people experiencing homelessness every other year.