Almost 12,000 people participated in Saturday’s 10th annual HomeWalk, setting a record, raising more than $1 million to help end homelessness, organizers said.
Elise Buik, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Eric Dickerson spoke before the 5- kilometer walk/run held at Grand Park for the first time. It was previously held in Exposition Park.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation matched every $5,000 a person or team raised with another $5,000, up to $400,000, according to the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, which conducts the walk in connection with its “Creating Pathways out of Poverty” plan.
The HomeWalk has raised more than $7.5 million in its 10 years. It helped house approximately 17,000 people before this year, organizers said.
“Creating Pathways Out of Poverty” relies on a “Housing First” approach.
It seeks to end chronic and veteran homelessness and reduce homelessness in Los Angeles County by 75 percent by moving thousands of individuals into permanent housing with supportive services.
The one-night estimate of homelessness found that the Los Angeles area again had the nation’s second-largest amount of homeless people, 43,584, a 5.9 percent increase from the 41,174 figure in 2015. The 2016 figure was 26.7 percent higher than the 2014 figure of 34,393.
The Los Angeles area also again had the second-largest percentage of unsheltered homeless people among major cities, 74.8 percent, compared to 70.3 percent in 2015.
The figures for the Los Angeles area are for its continuum of care, the local planning body responsible for coordinating the full range of homelessness services in a geographic area. The Los Angeles Continuum of Care consists of all of Los Angeles County except for Glendale, Pasadena and Long Beach.
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