Government
Published 11/14/25 7:09PM
Done in a Day

Count with us in the 2026 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count! Locations throughout LA County.

On-site, Volunteer must be in or near Los Angeles, CA
I Want to Help


  • Details

    Start Date:
    January 20, 2026, 8:00 PM GMT-8
    End Date:
    January 22, 2026, 11:45 PM GMT-8
    Available Times:
    Weekdays (evenings)
    Time Commitment:
    A few hours
    Commitment Details:
    All you need to give is a few hours of your time to help gather vital data about our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Count from the comfort of your car using an app - we will train you.
    Recurrence:
    One time only
    Volunteers Needed:
    2000
    Cause Areas:
    Civic Engagement, Housing & Homelessness, Poverty, Research & Social Science, Urban Areas
    Benefits:
    Training Provided
    Good For:
    Teens, Public Groups, Age 55+, Private Corporate Groups
    Participation Requirements:
    Attend Orientation
    Age Requirement:
    13+

    Description

    Every January, thousands of community volunteers like you come together to count people experiencing homelessness. They count, will you?

    Why: Los Angeles is home to the largest unsheltered homeless population in the nation, but by working together, we are making a real difference. The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count is an essential part of our efforts to address homelessness, providing us with data to allocate resources more effectively and identify areas where additional services are needed.

    Who: The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is a joint powers authority of the city and county of Los Angeles, created in 1993 to address the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles. LAHSA is the lead agency in the HUD-funded Los Angeles Continuum of Care, and coordinates and manages programs providing shelter, housing, and services to people experiencing homelessness.

    What to Expect: We visually count our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness, with thousands of community volunteers organized from approximately 150 Deployment Sites covering the majority of LA County.

    • We count at night (generally starting at 8 PM) to capture a point in time estimate after most of our unhoused neighbors settle in for the evening.
    • Volunteering only takes about 4 hours of your evening, and your participation is crucial to generating data used to track progress and allocate funding to the areas with the highest need.
    • To find a deployment site near you and register, visit the count website. You will also find training videos, a guide to downloading the Quick Capture app, and all the information you need to join this effort.
    • Volunteers gather at a deployment site, form teams of two, are assigned specific census tracts, and then head out to count from their car using the easy to use Quick Capture app.
    • Training is available on demand on our website and the onsite team at your deployment site will answer any remaining questions you have.

    What's Required: Requirements include offering approximately 4 hours of your time during one or more of the evenings of January 20th, 21st, and 22nd 2026.

    • At least one team member must download the Quick Capture app
    • At least one team member must be willing to drive through the assigned census tract(s).
    • Youth may participate with adult supervision. All participants must sign a liability waiver (including at time of registration).
    • All participants must review the training resources available on our website.

    Location

    On-site

    150 locations across Los Angeles County

    Los Angeles, CA, USA
    Directions

    Look up the site nearest to you at count.lahsa.org and register today!

    Sites include but are not limited to: Hollywood, Chinatown, Silverlake, East LA, Compton, Venice, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Pacoima, Redondo Beach, San Pedro, Whittier, West Covina - there are 150 sites to choose from, nobody in LA is more than 5 miles from a site!

    How to Volunteer for This Opportunity

    Registration is quick and easy on the Homeless Count website! Simply enter your zip code, choose a nearby deployment site, and sign up online. We will send reminders as we get closer to the count dates. Training is available on demand on our website along with instructions for downloading the Quick Capture app that we use to count. Email homelesscount@lahsa.org with any questions!

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