More than 75,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County, California, marking an almost 10% increase in the unhoused population from 2022.
In a new annual point-in-time count released Thursday by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, it reported that 75,518 people in the county were either living in vehicles, tents, makeshift shelters, or provisional housing.
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Last year, there were 69,144 found to be living in such conditions, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Since the same count in 2015, the number has reportedly spiked 70% in the county and 80% in Los Angeles.
Neither Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass nor Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Chief Executive Va Lecia Adams Kellum characterized the data as disappointing but also not a surprise.
“We thought with last year’s numbers that we were flattening the curve. However, what we see in this trajectory is that people remain in a situation of vulnerability where they’re falling into homelessness faster than we can house them,” she told reporters during a briefing.
“There’s much more needed to right the ship,” she added.
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Black homeless people made up a disproportionate 31% of the count, while Latinos accounted for about 43%. Further, a quarter of the county’s homeless people are suffering from mental illnesses, and an additional 30% reported having substance use disorders.
Representatives whose districts make up part of the county did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
