Volunteer to Count the Homeless

Volunteers are needed to help the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority get an accurate count of the number of homeless people in the area next year, according to its website.

You can volunteer to help in the San Gabriel Valley or in other parts of Los Angeles.

The biennial count of the homeless population in Los Angeles County deploys teams of volunteers to survey locals living on the streets or in shelters.

Volunteers now can sign up online to help with next year's count.

During the countywide initiative last year, about 51,240 homeless people were counted in Los Angeles County.

In the San Gabriel Valley, there were 3,918 homeless people in 2011. That's an increase of 649 over 2009 data.

Of those, 60% were age 25-54, 12% were over age 62, and about 9% were under 18, 8% were 18-24 and almost 10% were age 55-61.