Redondo Beach homeless count returns after two-year gap, appears to show drop
by Garth Meyer
Volunteers conducted the 2022 Redondo Beach Homeless Count Feb. 23, finding lower numbers than expected.
The county-wide count’s official numbers will be released in May or June.
Ronson Chu, Redondo Beach site coordinator, noted lower numbers of homeless in areas such as near City Hall and the library, as well as along Artesia Boulevard.
“Anecdotally, the overall count did seem less than expected,” Chu said, attributing it to perhaps a particularly cold night in which more people found shelter and/or recent city measures such as the homeless court (2018), pallet shelters (2020), and the hiring of a city housing navigator earlier this year.
For last week’s homeless count, 29 volunteers worked with five Redondo Beach police officers to cover the 17 census tracts in the city.
Biennial homeless surveys are required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
In 2016, Los Angeles County started doing a count every year. The count was canceled last year because of the pandemic.
In 2020, the number of Redondo homeless registered at 177 people, a slight increase from 174 in 2019. The peak was 261 people in 2017.
This year’s assessment was the first with the 15-unit pallet shelters in operation, (near South Bay Galleria).
It is also the first year a phone app, “Akito Connect” was used. Data from the app will be analyzed by USC researchers, working with the Los Angeles County Homeless Service Authority.
Concentrated spots for homeless in Redondo Beach include the Performing Arts Center in North Redondo, Veterans Park, Dominguez Park, and near the 405 in North Redondo.
Chu works as a volunteer for the homeless count. His regular job is as a senior project manager for South Bay Cities Council of Governments.
The Los Angeles County homeless count is the largest in the United States. Volunteers underwent training online this year.
58 Emergency Housing Vouchers for Redondo in new program
Redondo Beach was allocated 58 federal Emergency Housing Vouchers last July 1. The vouchers pay 70 percent of the cost of an individual’s rent for up to 20 years.
Redondo has issued three vouchers so far, though recipients have yet to be placed into housing.
Ronson Chu, Redondo Beach homeless count site coordinator, explained that the vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are not easily used, because landlords are not required to accept them.
HUD uses county and city homeless count numbers as part of its biennial decisions on how many Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV), and other funding for homeless services are distributed. The EHV program began in 2021. ER