![\"Annual](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/yx8bpiafv0pu7rsp.jpg\")
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LOS ANGELES – The annual homeless count<\/a> began Tuesday night across Los Angeles<\/a>, as volunteers fanned out through neighborhoods to tally people living on the streets, in tents and in recreational vehicles \u2014 a process taking place amid major budget cuts and ongoing questions about the accuracy of the numbers.<\/p>\n The count, conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, is used to estimate the size of the region\u2019s homeless population and help determine where funding and services are directed.<\/p>\n LAHSA interim CEO Gita O\u2019Neill warned that the agency could see an increase in homelessness following significant reductions in funding.<\/p>\n “When proven solutions lose funding, homelessness doesn\u2019t stay flat \u2014 it may rise,” O\u2019Neill said.<\/p>\n LAHSA is facing roughly $300 million in budget cuts after a recent audit found a lack of transparency in how the agency tracked spending and services.<\/p>\n Asked how she responds to critics who say the cuts are justified, O\u2019Neill said the agency has taken steps to address the audit\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n “We\u2019ve reorganized our contracts. We have a new risk manager. We have a new internal audit committee at LAHSA,” O\u2019Neill said. “We\u2019re really trying to be good stewards of people\u2019s money.”<\/p>\n On Skid Row, one of the areas with the highest concentration of homelessness in the city, many people living in encampments told FOX 11 they do not believe homelessness is declining, despite LAHSA reporting decreases citywide for the past two years.<\/p>\n One man, who spoke from inside his tent and asked not to be identified, said five people were living together in a single tent.<\/p>\n “They say homelessness is down? Homelessness is up,” another man said.<\/p>\n “I feel like there\u2019s more homeless people than there was before,” a third man said. “I think it\u2019s growing.”<\/p>\n Others expressed frustration with the level of help available.<\/p>\n “Do you feel like the city is giving you enough resources?” FOX 11 asked one man.<\/p>\n “No,” he responded, alleging widespread misuse of funds.<\/p>\n Some said accountability is the key to fixing the crisis.<\/p>\n “Put the right people in office,” one man said. “People who are not using funds the way they\u2019re supposed to \u2014 get them out.”<\/p>\n Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents District 4, said more oversight is needed but warned against further reducing funding.<\/p>\n “We are doing more here to hold the system accountable,” Raman said. “But we can\u2019t do it if you pull your dollars away.”<\/p>\n LAHSA officials say the results of this year\u2019s count will help determine which areas of the city need the most support moving forward.<\/p>\n Mayor Karen Bass was listed as a speaker at the event Tuesday night but did not attend. FOX 11 had planned to ask her questions about the city\u2019s homelessness strategy. No explanation was given for her absence.<\/p>\n Homeless Crisis<\/a>Skid Row<\/a>Downtown LA<\/a>Los Angeles<\/a>Karen Bass<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES – The annual homeless count began Tuesday night across Los Angeles, as volunteers fanned out through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1184,6858,19262,4132,48,52,6086,51,47,137,50,49,100,592,6645,1181],"class_list":{"0":"post-142854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-dtla","10":"tag-homeless-crisis","11":"tag-karen-bass","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-headlines","14":"tag-la-los-angeles-county","15":"tag-la-news","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-county","18":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","19":"tag-los-angeles-news","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-people","22":"tag-skid-row","23":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}