LAHSA Removed Hundreds from Homeless Count Without Notifying Officials

LAHSA Revisions Spark Concerns Over Transparency and Accuracy of Homeless Count

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) has faced scrutiny over recent revisions to its 2025 homeless count, which saw the relocation of over 400 individuals from within the city of Los Angeles to other areas. These changes were made just days before the public release of the findings, raising questions about transparency and the accuracy of the data.

On July 7, LAHSA provided initial figures to local elected officials and their staff, indicating a 2.5% decline in homelessness within the city. However, when the agency publicly released updated numbers later that week, it reported a slightly larger reduction of 3.4%. The revised count showed a decrease of 437 people, but these changes were not shared with elected officials at the time.

Following inquiries from FIKS FIT, LAHSA acknowledged the revisions and explained them to city officials on Tuesday, the day after the count was made public. Several City Council offices have since requested more detailed information about the adjustments.

Data Collection and HUD Compliance

The data used for the count was gathered in February as part of a requirement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). According to LAHSA spokesperson Ahmad Chapman, the last-minute changes were due to an error in the agency’s new housing inventory system, which incorrectly labeled several hundred interim housing units as being located within the city of Los Angeles.

Chapman explained that HUD rules require scattered site beds to be tagged based on where most of the beds in a project are located. This issue was resolved before the public release of the data, but officials were not informed until after FIKS FIT raised questions about the revisions.

Concerns About Transparency

City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez criticized LAHSA for not being transparent about the changes. She noted that the revisions occurred after multiple delays in briefings for elected officials. Rodriguez emphasized that the public has a right to know about any changes to the numbers, as taxpayer dollars are involved.

A spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass did not respond to requests for comment regarding the revisions and when the mayor was informed of the changes.

Impact on Homelessness Numbers

The revisions did not affect the overall homeless population estimate for L.A. County but reduced the city of Los Angeles’ sheltered count by 475 people and increased the unsheltered count by 38. LAHSA declined to identify specific shelters that were revised, citing the complexity of multi-site or “scattered site” programs.

LAHSA communicated that the main goal was to correct misassigned locations before the final release. However, some discrepancies remained, including an increase in the unsheltered count, which was based on earlier draft data that had not been updated.

Communication and Corrections

During the July 7 briefing, LAHSA told officials that the data was subject to change but that any adjustments would not significantly alter the overall narrative of the Homeless Count. After the meeting, the agency discovered that its method of tagging cities for multi-site housing did not align with HUD’s geographic coding specifications.

LAHSA adjusted the addresses accordingly and submitted the data to the USC School of Social Work for recalculations. While the agency did not explain how the issue was discovered, HUD confirmed that its specifications for scattered sites remained unchanged from 2024 to 2025.

Ongoing Questions and Next Steps

USC expert Ben Henwood noted that such revisions are not uncommon, given the intensive nature of the annual count. He said that the process often involves rerunning estimates as data is refined.

Despite LAHSA’s claims that the final numbers met HUD standards, concerns remain about the accuracy and transparency of the data. Councilmember John Lee has raised questions about the sheltered counts in his district, noting a discrepancy between the number of beds available and those actually occupied.

LAHSA has promised to release more detailed information from the 2025 count, including breakdowns by council district and demographic data about the unhoused population. The agency continues to work on refining its mapping processes to better comply with HUD requirements.