Information gathered in the annual tally helps the city apply for grants and other funding to address the homeless crisis, and it helps guide decisions on programs and spending.

The count tallied 69,144 homeless people in LA County and 41,980 in the city of Los Angeles. The figures do not include Long Beach, which conducts its own count.

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach increased by over 1,300, according to the city’s point-in-time count data, which the city released Friday afternoon.

The number of homeless people counted across Los Angeles County jumped 12.7% over the past year to more than 66,400 and authorities fear that figure will spike again once the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic is felt.

Long Beach on Thursday conducted its annual point-in-time count homeless count to gage the total population and demographics of those experiencing homelessness in the city. The count helps to determine how much funding the city will get from the county.

While Long Beach may have seen its homeless population decline over the past two years the rest of the county did not experience the same outcome as a county-wide homeless homeless count released today showed a 23 percent spike in Los Angeles County.

The number of persons experiencing homelessness in Long Beach has decreased by 21 percent compared to two years ago, according to the latest findings from January’s 2017 Biennial Homeless Count released yesterday by city officials.

Community volunteers are invited to participate in the eighth biennial Homeless Count on Thursday, January 26.