By Jorge Casuso
Editor's note: A previous version of this artcile stated there are 18 census tracks in the city. There are 35.
February 19, 2025 -- More than 100 volunteers are expected to comb Santa Monica's streets Thursday night to count the number of homeless individuals in the beach city, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
The annual count, which was postponed after wildfires swept across the Los Angeles area last month, is being run by the County, and not the City, for the second straight year.
And while City-run counts typically saw some 300 volunteers turn out to tally homeless individuals sleeping outdoors, as well as in cars, RVs and tents, 100 volunteers is enough to cover the 226 linear miles of streets by car, LAHSA officials said.
"In general, the number of volunteers requested that is listed on our website is based on a formula that assumes three volunteers per count team and each count team covering one census tract," said Huáscar Robles, a communications specialist for LAHSA.
"We use this formula because we want to maximize the opportunity for community members to get involved. In practice, we often have teams of two people, and one count team can handle several census tracts."
As of Wednesday night, 106 volunteers had signed up for the Santa Monica count, with an additional 11 volunteers requested to make sure the city's 35 census tracts will be covered.
"LAHSA promotes volunteering for the count broadly, including outreach through email, social media, and news media," Robles said.
"The number of volunteer slots available at a deployment site is not the required number of volunteers LAHSA needs to complete the Count."
If there is a shortage, LAHSA "has contingency plans in place in case volunteers are not able to count all census tracts at a deployment site," Robles said.
"If that happens, LAHSA special count teams will conduct make-up counts on any census tract that was not counted or has an incomplete count," Robles said.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "gives us 10 days to complete the Homeless Count and all tracts will be counted in that time."
LAHSA will once again use the "quality assurance process" it rolled out for the 2023 Count after undercounts were found in the 2022 census.
It includes using the Homeless Count app developed by ESRI, which supplies the GIS software, LAHSA officials said.
This year, volunteers will be able to use the app "to see the path they traveled, ensuring they know which areas they covered and prevent them from crossing outside of their assigned census tract," said LAHSA spokesperson Christopher Yee.
In addition, "paper census tract maps now have clearer, more readable street names and boundaries."
The registration process also has been improved, Yee said. Volunteers can now "register, manage their registration, and access training all on one website," Yee said.
Volunteers will also "experience a streamlined check-in process at the deployment site, which will reduce their time waiting to count."
The improvements for this year's count were made after the new technology did not run as smoothly as expected last year.
There was a delay in the transfer of data from the counting app to the dashboard and "issues" with the volunteer dashboard, as well as with volunteers who "experienced challenges with the app during the count," County officials said shortly after the 2024 Count.
Last year, a total of 774 homeless individuals were counted in Santa Monica, a decrease of 52 people that may have been impacted by the drop in volunteers and technical glitches.
This year, some 5,800 volunteers will spread out across 4,000 square miles of Los Angeles County, with Santa Monica accounting for 8.3 of those square miles.
Volunteers in Santa Monica will gather for the count at 8:30 p.m. at St. Monica Catholic Church, 725 California Avenue. To volunteer, click here
