🌿 Native Homelessness in L.A. County:

A Community in Crisis

📍 Los Angeles is home to the largest population of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) individuals in the U.S., with 327,930+ residents representing more than 200 tribal nations. Yet, Native people are disproportionately affected by homelessness—and their stories are too often erased.

🔦 Spotlight on Local Change

On April 1, 2025, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of the County’s first-ever department dedicated to homelessness. On July 1, 2025, they approved its official name: the LA County Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

This new department aims to increase accountability, reduce systemic barriers for people experiencing homelessness (and for those providing frontline care), and support a more coordinated, culturally respectful approach to housing, support, and healthcare.

For urban American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities—among the most marginalized and underserved populations in the County—this represents a meaningful opportunity to ensure that our voices, experiences, and solutions are truly centered in the systems intended to serve us.

We’ll keep you updated on ways to stay informed, engaged, and involved as this work continues.

📊 Key Facts on AI/AN Homelessness

75% increase in Native homelessness from 2022 to 2023—the highest among all groups.
90% of AI/AN unhoused individuals are unsheltered.
13% identify as LGBT (vs. 7% of general population).
23% of AI/AN adults were former foster youth (vs. 13% of general homeless population).
25% lost housing due to eviction or foreclosure; 14% due to uninhabitable conditions.
Native veterans are overrepresented but under-supported in accessing VA benefits.

“Homelessness data systems that do not include inclusive definitions of AIAN contribute to data genocide.” — Los Angeles Native American Indian Commission