Organizers expect more than 15,000 people to participate in Saturday’s 10th annual HomeWalk, which seeks to raise public awareness and funds to end homelessness.
Elise Buik, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Eric Dickerson are among the scheduled speakers before the 5-kilometer walk/run being held at Grand Park for the first time. It was previously held in Exposition Park.
Organizers have set a goal of raising $1 million. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation matches every $5,000 a person or team raises 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 $6.5 million in its nine years, helping to house approximately 17,000 people, 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 walk comes two days after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2016 Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.
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.
Experts cite high housing costs as a reason for the area’s increase in homelessness.
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.
— City News Service