Annual Trends Among the Unsheltered in Three Los Angeles Neighborhoods: The Los Angeles Longitudinal Enumeration and Demographic Survey (LA LEADS) 2024 Annual Report.

Since fall 2021, RAND researchers have conducted ongoing enumerations and surveys of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in three Los Angeles, California, neighborhoods: Hollywood, Skid Row, and Venice. These data were obtained to provide policymakers with a deeper understanding of trends in the number of, demographics of, and services being provided to unsheltered people in areas known to be epicenters of the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. The most recent full year of results from the ongoing Los Angeles Longitudinal Enumeration and Demographic Survey (LA LEADS) study revealed a meaningfully different picture of unsheltered homelessness in 2024 compared with past years. The number of unsheltered people declined, likely driven by increased throughput to interim and permanent housing assets. However, multiple measures of acuity among people remaining on the street appear worse, suggesting that extending the past year's progress may require additional strategies.