Fed up with what they say are undercounts on their own streets, a coalition of nonprofits, residents and business owners in Hollywood is running its own homeless census this week to put the official tally to the test. About 60 volunteers are expected to spread out across roughly 30 census tracts, and organizers say they plan to publish their numbers on May 27. Instead of tapping through a mobile app, volunteers will mark observations on paper clipboards, a throwback approach that follows lingering questions about the accuracy of the regional point-in-time count conducted in January.
The effort is being headed by Hollywood 4WRD, a coalition of service providers, businesses and residents. "Our experience was confounding, perplexing and inefficient," Executive Director Brittney Weissman told LAist. Organizers say each census tract will be covered by at least two independent volunteers so that teams can compare notes, flag discrepancies and, if needed, ask for recounts.
Why Organizers Are Doubting The Official Tally
A study by RAND that ran bimonthly professional counts in Hollywood, Skid Row and Venice from 2021 through January found large gaps between its numbers and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's volunteer point-in-time totals. The report concluded LAHSA's 2025 unsheltered count captured about 68% of the people RAND tallied across those three neighborhoods, with Hollywood's official number coming in at roughly 81% of RAND's estimate and Skid Row dropping as low as 61%.
How Much Money Is Riding On The Count
Point-in-time snapshots help decide how federal and county homelessness dollars get carved up across the region, which means a lot of cash is effectively riding on a few nights of counting. According to LAHSA, HUD's Continuum of Care awards to the Los Angeles area exceed $200 million, roughly $220 million, and Measure A revenues are projected to top $1.08 billion a year. Per the LACAHSA draft FY2026-27 expenditure plan, the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency's share of Measure A is estimated at about $385 million for FY2026-27 (LACAHSA expenditure plan).
How Hollywood's DIY Count Will Work
Hollywood 4WRD says its neighborhood effort will follow the LA LEADS methodology developed by RAND and will lean heavily on manual observation and double coverage as built-in quality control. Organizers plan to track people living in vehicles and those sleeping outside on sidewalks and in doorways, groups that RAND has flagged as commonly missed by volunteer app-based surveys. The group hopes that a narrower, repeatable approach will yield a clearer and more actionable local snapshot for outreach teams.
Whether the neighborhood tally ends up dramatically different from the official count is an open question, but organizers argue that even a modestly sharper snapshot could give service providers and elected officials more granular evidence during ongoing budget talks. When Hollywood 4WRD releases its findings on May 27, it will provide an early test of whether neighborhood-level counts can nudge how outreach and funding are targeted in the weeks ahead.
