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Council urges volunteers for homeless count as members highlight new housing and youth mental‑health beds
Summary
Councilmembers urged Angelenos to volunteer for the city’s homeless count after organizers reported a volunteer shortage and app problems; members also highlighted recent housing and youth mental‑health bed projects including the 1 San Pedro public‑private development and a 37‑bed youth facility groundbreaking.
Councilmembers at the Feb. 19 Los Angeles City Council meeting urged volunteers to help with the city’s Point‑in‑Time homeless count after speakers and members said turnout was lower than expected and the mobile app used in the count experienced problems.
“Staff and volunteers last night were doing six or seven tracts each. It was a lot. You know, there was a really, really poor turnout,” Councilmember Grama said, encouraging students and residents to sign up at theycountwillyou.org. Grama said accurate counts help secure HUD dollars for the city.
Councilmember Blumenfield said the count was “inspiring” because of turnout in his area but confirmed that the mobile app used by counters had repeated problems for the third year in a row and that volunteers had to rely on paper reporting in some places.
Councilmember McOsker announced a recent groundbreaking for a large public‑private affordable housing effort in San Pedro called the “1 San Pedro” project, describing it as a renovation and expansion of the Rancho San Pedro public housing site. McOsker said the project will expand roughly 400 existing public housing units into approximately 1,200 units through a multi‑year redevelopment and that the first phase will provide on‑site “swing space” so residents can remain nearby during construction.
Councilmember Soto‑Martinez reported a separate recent groundbreaking for a youth mental‑health facility that will add 37 new beds for youth, saying the project was a collaboration among the county, state and the city and will serve LGBTQ youth in the region.
Councilmember Hutt also announced a food giveaway and community support event tied to her district’s outreach work, and other councilmembers reiterated that volunteers and community groups remain crucial to the count and to outreach efforts.
The council did not adopt new policy in the meeting excerpt on homeless services, but several members emphasized the urgency of accurate counting and the need for volunteers and community partnerships to secure federal resources and expand services.
Community members who spoke during public comment raised service needs at specific sites and urged additional city resources in Skid Row and other neighborhoods.
