This year’s Greater L.A. Homeless Count, which kicks off Tuesday, will give us the most concrete data we have yet to understand whether the region is making progress on reducing homelessness. There are big stakes — in particular for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who took office in late 2022 on a pledge to make reducing homelessness her top priority.

Whatever the official results are, the policies pursued in the future — and the people we put in charge to implement them — will also depend heavily on how Angelenos feel about the way things are going.

We wanted to take a temperature check on where those feelings stand. So last year, we distributed a survey.

Among the questions we asked: Do you feel like homelessness across L.A. has improved or gotten worse since Mayor Bass took office?

More than two-thirds of respondents told us it’s stayed the same or gotten worse.

An important note: This is by no means a scientific survey and nowhere near representative of a city of 4 million. That said, we heard from about 500 respondents. The answers help us get a better sense of whether Angelenos are seeing any changes and what they think of the direction the city is taking.

Here’s a breakdown with some insights from the wide range of answers we received. For transparency, we’ve included a map at the bottom of the story showing where these responses came from.

How has homelessness changed in your neighborhood?

First, the official data: Last year’s homeless count, conducted in January 2024, showed a 10% drop in the number of people sleeping outdoors across the city compared with the year before. There was a nearly 18% increase in sheltered homelessness, reflecting a shift in people moving from the streets to being indoors. The overall number of people experiencing homelessness in L.A. city, and across L.A. County, essentially remained flat.

But the degree to which you might notice any difference depends on where you are. The visibility and experience of homelessness varies across neighborhoods and even street to street.

So it’s no surprise that most of the survey responses we got were extremely mixed, even from within the same neighborhood. However, some trends did stick out.

Downtown L.A.

In downtown L.A., the vast majority of respondents said they felt homelessness had either stayed the same or increased.

Here’s what some of our readers said when asked for more detail:

• “As camps have closed in other areas, we have seen an increase in homeless and drug trafficking in DTLA. Specifically, the area surrounding the 7th Street Metro station entrances on Fig, Flower and Hope.” — Ralph P.
• “I used to pass two encampments when walking west on 3rd Street between Central Avenue and Main Street for years. They are now gone. Even in Skid Row, there are less tents blocking sidewalks. The bridge on Los Angeles in Chinatown passing over the 101 [Freeway] is now clear on both sides. ... Although there are still many people living on the street completely unsheltered (not even tents) and tented, downtown neighborhoods have improved significantly.” — Catherine Z.
• “It's heartbreaking, and it seems that no matter how much we spend or how many programs launch, nobody ever comes to help these souls.” — Ryan H.

Mar Vista

In Mar Vista, a handful of our readers said homelessness had noticeably decreased.

• “Many of the larger encampments have had their members housed temporarily in motels and hotels, and thus the local parks, sidewalks and freeway underpasses are no longer populated by our homeless community members. There are still encampments reoccurring in previously [cleared] sites, and areas with RVs and tents remain in some sites. Some homeless are now housed and seeking employment, and gaining medical and mental health services.” — Richard H.
• “We now have a few older homeless people, by themselves, on Venice Blvd. and adjacent blocks. We used to have several encampments (with 10-20 people), on Venice and just off Venice Blvd. ... These are gone.” — Kristin K.

Hollywood

In Hollywood, responses were almost exactly evenly split.

• “Same encampments all over Hollywood Blvd., from the 101 all the way to Gower.” — Patrick O.
  
• “Hollywood has had several successful Inside Safe operations — in specific spots where there were encampments, there are now none. They received housing. Of course, there are still many unhoused people in Hollywood — but this represents a tremendous win.” — Marian B.

• “I live in central Hollywood. I don’t just see our unhoused neighbors, I know their faces. I talk to them. I walk, don’t drive, and take the Red Line subway. Dramatically fewer folks are on streets or in parks in July ‘24 vs March ‘24, versus any point in 2023, and then in 2022/2021 similarly. Dramatically fewer.” — Rob

Below are some highlights from other neighborhoods.

Most respondents don’t think we’re making progress overall

While our readers had varying thoughts on how homelessness is affecting specific neighborhoods across L.A., a majority of the survey respondents agreed that, citywide, homelessness was about the same or worse from when Bass came into office. Here’s the breakdown of responses we received.

We asked respondents to elaborate and categorized those responses into a couple of themes. Among those who thought things were improving, most attributed it to personally seeing a decrease in homelessness in their neighborhoods. Others expressed confidence in the city’s approach and policies and said things were generally going in the right direction.

• “Well, I'm both appreciative and wary. The drop in encampments has legitimately improved our quality of life. We had two encampments that cut off our pedestrian access to Hollywood. I couldn't send my teens down to the farmers market on Saturday without supervision, and now I feel better doing so. But can it last?” — Gabrielle P., Hollywood
• “Mayor Bass' Inside Safe program is instrumental in bringing people indoors. Direct outreach to encampments is absolutely necessary to make contact with people in the encampments. Medical services, mental health services are necessary to keep those individuals from becoming more ill. The program is not perfect because social services are stretched thin, but it is a program on the right track.” — Jane D., Eagle Rock

Among those who thought things had not changed or were getting worse, most said their answer was based on not having seen any real signs of progress, be it long-term housing solutions or a decrease in visible homelessness. Others said government officials needed to focus more on other aspects of the crisis, like housing affordability, mental health and drug treatment.

• “I see no increase in the quality of life for homeless or those who share their communities with homeless.” — Daniel D., West L.A.
• “Unhoused people seem to be dislocated, but that just means they move to another location, and on and on. While I notice fewer people in my neighborhood, I haven't seen that translate to significant changes in the citywide landscape, as moving a person from one neighborhood just means they go to another.” — Amanda C., Echo Park
• “I don't think this is necessarily Mayor Bass' sole fault — our systems to address homelessness in LA City and County are highly dysfunctional. But the main reason is that we have not built enough housing in this city.” — Shikha B., Westlake

Who responded to the survey?

The survey received a total of 521 responses. Sixty-five of them came from outside the city of L.A., so Mayor Bass does not govern their neighborhoods. Here’s a map of where the responses came from. The survey opened on June 27, 2024, and remains open. The results reflect responses submitted between June and November 2024.

Take the survey yourself

If you read through these results and want to chime in with your own thoughts, we’re still collecting responses.

Fill in your answers below and we’ll have a fresh update on these results after the 2025 Homeless Count numbers are released.