Culver City 2024 Homeless Count to Help Identify Progress and Needs
Published on January 30, 2024
On January 24th, Culver City conducted its annual homeless count in a comprehensive two-part strategy to capture a real-time snapshot of the homelessness crisis within the community.
As the sun began to rise, City staff gathered outside City Hall to go over the plan. In the morning, the count would focus on the Ballona Creek, while the evening count would focus on the rest of Culver City streets.
“Now the reason we’re doing this earlier in the morning is because we feel we’ll be able to capture people more places where they are spending the night,” said Dr. Dan Richardson, Human Services and Crisis Intervention Division Manager. “It’s important for us to know the number of unhoused people in our community. That way we’re able to apportion resources and we’re able to go to Los Angeles and let them know how many we have on our streets and we get funding tied to the number of folks on the street.”
Culver City’s Mobile Crisis Team, specializing in non-emergency mental health care, walked the bike path in the daylight to identify and count unhoused neighbors along the path safely and accurately.
Later that evening, City staff, first responders, volunteers from St. Joseph Center and Urban Alchemy, as well as members from the Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness prepared for the wider count covering Culver City’s 5.1 square miles. Mayor Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Vice Mayor Dan O'Brien, and Council Member Göran Eriksson were also in attendance.
“I’m just grateful for folks spending their time to ensure we know what’s happening in Culver City and ensuring we’re doing everything we can to give folks the care and support that they need,” said Mayor McMorrin.
In 2023, 177 people experienced homelessness on any given night in Culver City.
Jonathon Dilworth, a local construction builder and Housing and Homelessness Advisory Committee member, joined Team 1 for the east side canvassing, marking his first year in helping with the count.
“One of the reasons why I wanted to become civically engaged in Culver City is because I have small children. I want to see them grow up in a community that embraces change and is always striving for something better,” Dilworth said. He added that he is seeing the progress being made in real-time. “The impact Culver City is having in our direct community is some of the best I’ve seen in all of LA County. So I’m really proud to be a citizen here in Culver City and also be part of the process.”
Wednesday's local effort was part of a three-day canvasing across the greater Los Angeles County area. Since last year’s count, Culver City has opened Project Homekey and Safe Sleep Wellness Village, along with securing motel leases. This count will help gauge the progress made by the city in leading with support and care to address the regional homelessness crisis.
“It’s a long road," said Vice Mayor O'Brien. "I think Culver City is on the leading edge of the effort, with all the facilities we’ve put online in the last year. These are all places with full services, all the things that can help people who are unhoused get to the next step, hopefully get to permanent housing. And I think that’s where we’re leading the county.”
Teams meticulously counted people, tents, makeshift structures, cars, and RVs during the canvassing over several hours. The resulting data will be analyzed and released in the coming weeks by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
“Hopefully we can meet our neighbors where they are and create these paths into housing that are so sorely needed in the city, in the region, and in the county,” Mayor McMorrin said. While the final numbers are anticipated to show a decrease in people on the streets, Culver City officials emphasize that the work is far from over.
You can watch the video of the day's work on Culver City's YouTube page or below.