Contact: Steve Ruppe
949-584-9086 (cell)
George McQuade III
213-225-8491 LAHSA
SKID ROW HOMELESS COUNT
JANUARY 29, 2015
HUD and VA Secretaries Join Volunteers to Count Homeless
WHAT: Every two years the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and thousands of volunteers do a point-in-time survey of the people who are homeless in Los Angeles County. On the last night of the Homeless Count, January 29th, the count comes to Skid Row with training and deployment at the Los Angeles Mission.
There are three elements to the count: the point-in-time survey of those living on the streets, those residing in shelters, and interviews with individual homeless guests to gather demographic and other information. All three elements will be taking place at the Los Angeles Mission.
WHO: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Interim Secretary Matthew Doherty, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Member Hilda Solis, Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar, LAHSA Director Peter Lynn, Los Angeles Mission President Herb Smith and more than a hundred volunteers are scheduled to participate.
WHEN: Thursday June January 29, 2015
7:00 p.m. Dinner for overnight guests at the Los Angeles Mission – Americor Volunteers conduct the demographic survey at this time. The shelter count also happens now.
7:30 p.m. Point-in-Time count volunteers scheduled to arrive.
8:00 p.m. Dignitaries begin arriving.
8:15 p.m. Orientation and training begins – Officials offer brief remarks.
9:00 p.m. Deployment to the streets begins. Twenty-five teams of 5 persons will count 18 different geographic sections (aka: tracts). Extra teams double up on tracts if necessary. Some dignitaries will be joining the teams as they move through the streets.
11:30 p.m. Teams return to Los Angeles Mission to turn in the raw numbers of their count (some may return prior to this time). Final numbers are compiled with results from all over L.A. County before they are available to the public.
WHERE: Los Angeles Mission, 303 E. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013.
There is Limited Media Parking at 316 Winston Street.
Editors: [The Los Angeles Mission can accommodate live TV trucks (parking in the Winston street lot). While there is the opportunity to go onto the streets with teams of volunteers and visiting dignitaries --- it is important for the media to use discretion in their coverage of those efforts. Please be aware that media attention should never impact the LAHSA Homeless Count Team’s effectiveness as they are making their counts.
Please connect with the Los Angeles Mission or LAHSA Communications
LAHSA: Director, George McQuade III, (213) 225-8491 or Cell: (213) 247-1318
to discuss access. There will be a media check-in table. ]