This year’s homeless count numbers are in and results show an overall drop in homelessness across Los Angeles County, including a 14 percent drop in homelessness here in Malibu.
According to information provided by the City of Malibu, 155 individuals were counted during the overnight event which took place on Jan. 25. That’s down from 180 counted around the same time last year, and 161 counted in 2016.
Malibu city leadership is celebrating these numbers as a result of increased efforts to relieve the homeless situation in town.
“The decrease in homelessness reflects the positive results of the work by the Malibu Homeless Outreach Team since being enlisted and funded in September 2016 by the Malibu Task Force on Homelessness with contributions from the City of Malibu,” a statement provided by the city details. “The Outreach Team reported that they have placed 29 people in permanent housing and helped get a total of 49 people off the streets of Malibu between September 30, 2016, and March 31, 2018.”
In total, the count found 53,195 homeless people were residing in LA County, down from 55,048 one year ago.
“Everyone in Malibu should be encouraged by the positive results of the efforts to address this humanitarian crisis,” Mayor Rick Mullen said in a statement released by the city. “I am grateful to all of the volunteers and organizations that worked through the night to gather this information that we need to effectively address homelessness in Malibu.”