For the first time in history, Los Angeles County and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be counting the U.S. Census tracts of Brentwood as a part of the bi-annual homeless count. On Jan. 28, the Brentwood Community Council (BCC) as well as the County are seeking volunteers from 6 pm to 10 pm to help count the homeless population within the 90049 zip code.
Michelle Bisnoff, Chair of the Outreach Committee at BCC, elaborated on some of the reasoning behind why Brentwood has not participated in the homeless count before.
“As for why it took so long to count our area, the answer is simple: the count is a large, complex, and mostly volunteer effort,” Bisnoff said. “Most organizations do not have the manpower to get it done, or the issue is outside their strategic plan.”
For BCC, the mission was a feasible prospect – and the organization has fortunately received assistance from political offices to help smooth the planning process.
“Being a community organization with members from throughout the neighborhood, [BCC] is a great organization to take this on and do it well,” Bisnoff said. “We owe a huge debt of thanks to Councilman Mike Bonin, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, and State Representative Richard Boom, who have all made it easier for us to get tasks done by cutting red tape along the way.”
Bisnoff still found very surprising the fact that this would be Brentwood’s first time participating.
“The BCC also found this surprising since Brentwood is right next door to the VA and, from experience, most of the homeless in Brentwood seem to be veterans,” Bisnoff said. “The BCC thought it was important to sponsor the count and get those numbers into the Federal/State/County social service systems.”
To help submit accurate numbers, volunteers are meeting at the Barrington Recreational Center at 6 pm on Jan. 28 for a brief training and dinner.
Local street assignments will be provided starting at 7 pm. Volunteers will head out in teams of three, with one member driving.
“The process is very straightforward: train, drive, look, count, report,” Bisnoff said. “All of the demographic information is collected on another night by social workers, so this is only a count of heads.”
Volunteers are still needed and may sign up as a single to be placed on a team.
To sign up to volunteer, visit lahsa.nationbuilder.com/register.
For more information on the BCC and the Brentwood homeless count, visit brentwoodcommunitycouncil.org.
