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VOL. 30,
After 2 years of reductions, 2026 count reveals increase in LA homelessness
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eductions in the number of Los Angeles area residents living without a residence came to an end this year, according to the results of the annual Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count released Friday. Following drops in 2024 and '25, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased 1.2% to an estimated 73,040 in LA County and a 3.4% increase to 45,194 in the city of LA, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported. Unsheltered homelessness — living on the street or in tent encampments, public spaces, vehicles or makeshift shelters — increased 3.3% to 49,002 people in LA County and 7.9% to 29,115 in the city of Los Angeles. Glendale, Pasadena and Long Beach conduct their own counts separate from the Continuum of Care that includes most cities in LA County. According to data from Pasadena Partnership that administers the city's count, 577 people were unhoused on the night of the 2026 count, 56% of whom were unsheltered. The city saw a 6% drop in unsheltered homelessness but a 7% rise in sheltered. Overall homelessness decreased 1%. Long Beach's count revealed an increase of 134 people, or 3.7% compared with the 2025 count. This year 2,588, or 69.4% of unhoused people were unsheltered in Long Beach, while 1,141, or 30.6% stayed in shelters or interim
Court quashes lawsuit challenging Arcadia council censure
By Joe Taglieri
By Joe Taglieri
joet@civicnewsgroup.com
joet@civicnewsgroup.com
A
An encampment sits just down the street from Los Angeles City Hall. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
housing. Glendale has not yet released the results of that city's 2026 count, which like LAHSA's and most other counts occurred in January. Combined regional data from LAHSA shows the three cities each saw a roughly 3.5% rise in unsheltered homelessness. Last year, Glendale, Pasadena and Long Beach experienced a 4% drop in overall homelessness and a 10% unsheltered decrease. Data from LAHSA, a joint LA County and city of Los Angeles agency that administers the annual count, indicates that the increase did not result from the failure of any particular programs, officials said. The main driver of the homelessness increase was a pause in new
enrollments and permanent housing placements with Time Limited Subsidies. The TLS program provides temporary financial aid to help individuals pay rent. Funding reductions forced the pause on TLS enrollments, according to LAHSA. As a result, the number of people newly housed using TLS dropped from 10,308 in 2024 to 6,590 in 2025, or 36%. Officials said the plunge in TLS enrollments substantially contributed to the number of people permanently housed last year, which dropped to 23,532. That is roughly 5,100 fewer people compared with the record high of 28,625 permanently housed in
2024. The lack of movement in the system left fewer available beds for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and caused the unsheltered increases in the city and county, according to LAHSA. “This year’s count confirms a fundamental truth: access to permanent housing ends homelessness,” LAHSA Interim Chief Executive Officer Gita O’Neill said in a statement. “When our unhoused neighbors lost access to rental subsidies, the system slowed, there was less upward movement in interim housing, and progress stalled. Our community needs to come together to reinvest
See LA homelessness Page 27
NO. 286
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Arcadia City Council's censure of thenMayor and current Councilwoman Sharon Kwan. The council voted 4-1 in September to censure Kwan for alleged offenses that included violating rules of decorum during meetings and "engaging in un-collegial behavior, unprofessional temperament, and unfounded accusations against Councilmembers simply because other Councilmembers expressed a differing viewpoint,” according to the censure resolution. Kwan has said the censure was an attempt by the council majority — current Mayor Paul Cheng, Mayor Pro Tem David Fu and Councilman Michael Cao — to quell her opposition to large pay increases for city employees and discredit her allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination against Fu. In March an investigation into the harassment allegations determined Kwan's charges were unsubstantiated. According to Kwan that conclusion “is not accurate, and I do not believe it was fair” because the only people interviewed were the four other council members, Fu’s wife and City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto. Ex-Mayor and Councilwoman Eileen Wang — who resigned earlier this year after federal prosecutors outed her as an intelligence
operative for the People's Republic of China — cast one of the votes to censure Kwan. In his ruling Thursday, Judge Thomas D. Long found that the censure was a constitutionally protected exercise of free speech and did not violate the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs how local governments in California operate. The ruling granted the city's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Cory Briggs, attorney for plaintiffs Stephanie Aiken and Laurie Thompson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previously he said they sued "because the censure was punitive and retaliatory, contrary to federal and state law. "The plaintiffs are residents and taxpayers in Arcadia and believe that the council majority’s illegal actions are impeding Mayor Kwan’s ability to best serve their interests," Briggs said after the lawsuit's Sept. 18 filing. According to the lawsuit, “The ringleader behind (the censure) was Councilmember David Fu, against whom Mayor Kwan had submitted an administrative sexualharassment complaint … at least one month earlier. Shortly thereafter the City Manager informed at least three members of (the City Council), including Councilmember Fu, that the complaint had been filed and that city would hire an
See Arcadia censure Page 14