1. New Arrivals vs. Long-Timers Contrasting Faces of Homelessness UCLA
Conference on Transdisciplinary Homelessness Research
May 24, 2017

2. Left to right: Wanda, Mark, Robert, Linda, Kenyon, Dan, and Dorsey
Economic Roundtable
Job Club
1994
Left to right: Wanda, Mark, Robert, Linda, Kenyon, Dan, and Dorsey

3. Estimated Annual Homeless Population Based on Point-In-Time Population of 50,000
16% of the point-in-time population report being in their first month of homelessness
48% of the annual homeless population is projected to be homeless for one month or less
Source: LAHSA HMIS data for January 2016 and 2017.

4. Shelter vs. Street in 2017 Most likely to be in shelter: Children
Females
Non-chronically homeless
Most likely to be unsheltered:
1. Chronically homeless
Source: LAHSA, 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Data Summary

5. Where Unsheltered Individuals Spent the Last 30 Nights, by Months Homeless this Time
Longer time homeless associated with:
Less vehicle occupancy
More unsheltered sleeping on sidewalks and alleys
Source: LAHSA, 2017 demographic survey, unweighted data.

6. Where Unsheltered Individuals Spent Most of the Last 30 Nights, by Age
The most noticeable differences are based on age
Half of unsheltered children live in vehicles
10% of homeless children are something less secure than an emergency shelter or a vehicle
Source: LAHSA, 2017 demographic survey, unweighted data.

7. Justice System Involvement of First-time vs Chronically Homeless Unsheltered Individuals
Half of men who are homeless for the first time have been incarcerated, suggesting that jail or prison preceded homelessness.
Prolonged exposure to homelessness increases the rate of incarceration among women by over half.
Sources: LAHSA street counts 2009 to Data includes single individuals 18 years of age or older but does not include the 0.02 percent of sightings that are of homeless families. Unweighted street count data.

8. Age when First Homeless by Age of Unsheltered Homeless Respondents
18 to 24 is the most frequent age of first homeless episode for respondents up to age 54
30% of individuals 55+ years old report that they first became homeless when they were over 45
Sources: LAHSA, 2016 and 2017 demographic surveys, unweighted data.

9. Rates of First-time and Chronic Homelessness within Population Groups
Rates of chronic homelessness increase with age.
Rates are similar across gender and ethnicity groups.
Chronically homeless individuals are more likely to be alone and less likely to be working.
Sources: Weighted average of LAHSA demographic surveys 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017; HMIS data January Data is for individuals 18+ years of age. Individuals who are neither first-time nor chronically homeless are not shown.

10. Health Conditions of Unsheltered Individuals by Homeless History
Serious health conditions are reported 2½ times more frequently by chronically homeless individuals than by first-time homeless
Sources: LAHSA, 2016 and 2017 demographic surveys. Unweighted data for individuals 25 years of age and older.

11. Conclusions
Increasing monthly exit rates from homelessness by 10% will reduce chronic homelessness by half.
Wreckage accumulates on the path to chronic homelessness, making it increasingly difficult and costly to exit.
Most homeless adults want to support themselves through work, making it a viable early intervention.
New screening tools are needed to identify and help newly homeless individuals at high risk of becoming chronically homeless.
Homelessness results from system-wide failures and requires system-wide engagement.