The City of Malibu continues to see a reduction in people experiencing homelessness. The continued decline underscores the City's unwavering commitment to address homelessness through innovative strategies, support services and community collaboration.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) has released the official numbers for the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, which show a Countywide decline of .27% to 75,312 people experiencing homelessness (PEH). In Service Planning Area (SPA) 5, which includes the City of Malibu, there was decrease of 19% to 5,383 PEH. In the City of Malibu, LAHSA's raw data showed 69 PEH, a slight increase from the 51 PEH previously reported by the City following the Homeless Count earlier this year. The increase is attributed to app coding errors that resulted in lost data within the Homeless Count app at the time of reporting the initial raw data.

"Our proactive, service- driven approach recognizes the need to provide meaningful services and help people off the streets and into housing, as well as the need to address the impacts to public safety, public health and quality of life that homelessness has on our community," said Mayor Doug Stewart. "It is inspiring to see the results, and I am grateful for the strong partnerships with our Homeless Outreach team, Sheriff's Department, community members and other partner agencies for making this possible."

On January 24, 18 volunteers participated in the event alongside the City's Homeless Outreach Team through The People Concern and staff. Volunteers were assigned to a group that covered a particular census-designated area within the City limits to look for individuals, families, cars, RVs, tents, and makeshift shelters. The data follows reports that the City's Homeless Outreach Team has continuously helped PEH in Malibu exit homelessness through placement in permanent and interim housing, or family reunification.

Since 2016, when the City started tracking the data, the City's homeless population has shown a declining trend:

• 2016 - 161
• 2017 - 178
• 2018 - 155
• 2019 - 154
• 2020 - 239
• 2021 - 157*
• 2022 - 81
• 2023 - 71
• 2024 - 69

*LAHSA Count was cancelled, but an informal count was conducted in Malibu.

The City continues to partner with the Malibu Homeless Outreach Team and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to proactively identify and remove all encampments within City limits. The City, in partnership with its law enforcement, County, and outreach partners, cleared 29 encampments in 2023, 41 in 2022, and 58 in 2021.

People living in encampments are always given advance notice, and outreach is conducted to offer services and shelter and/or housing, and their possessions are stored and tracked. Any necessary environmental cleanup is conducted, and the sites are revisited to ensure that new encampments are not established.

During Red Flag fire conditions, the City can fast-track the removal of encampments to prevent fires when the City Council declares a local emergency due to high fire risk, which it did in 2021 and 2022. As a result, the number of fires originating from encampments has dropped from 23 in 2021, to four in 2022, to two in 2023.

The 2024 Homeless Count results reflect the continuing effectiveness of the City's proactive approach to addressing homelessness in partnership with the Homeless Outreach Team, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the community at large. The City began contracting for homeless outreach services in 2017, beginning with two outreach workers and expanding in 2020 to include a housing navigator. The City recently extended the contract with The People Concern through 2027 to ensure continued homeless outreach success.

For more information about the City's efforts to address homelessness, contact Public Safety Liaison Luis Flores at [email protected] or call 310-456-2489, ext. 236 or visit the Homelessness webpage.

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