Counting on each other

Happy New Year to you all. Together, let’s start 2011 on the right foot—literally. Please join my staff and me for the bi-annual Homeless Count. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority needs 4,000 volunteers to hit the streets between January 25-27.

As you’ll see from this story on my website, the count is required for federal homeless funds to flow to counties and cities across the nation. Never before has there been a more determined commitment in the public and private sectors to end chronic homelessness by providing those in need with permanent housing and services.

Last month, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce released a blueprint—called Home for Good—with the ambitious but achievable goal of ending chronic homelessness in five years.

And just this week, we were able to allocate nearly $1.7 million in Third District homeless funds to two organizations in the forefront of the growing movement to provide permanent supportive housing—Step up on Second and OPCC. For more details, read here.

So, I hope I can count on you to join this year’s Homeless Count and make a tangible difference in someone’s life.