L.A.’s homeless deaths decreased in 2023, but hundreds still died on its streets

New data from the Los Angeles Controller’s Office found a significant decrease in homeless deaths in 2023, but officials say more still needs to be done.

According to L.A. Controller Kenneth Mejia, 900 unhoused individuals in Los Angeles city limits died in 2023 — down nearly 23% from the previous year’s total of 1,167.

Still, Mejia said the reduction was not something to celebrate. “Any number of unhoused deaths is unacceptable,” Mejia wrote on X, previously Twitter.

Of those 900 deaths, three-quarters were considered “accidental,” data showed; 18% were considered natural, 4% were homicides, 2% were suicides and the remaining 1% were undetermined.

The highest amount of deaths took place during the beginning of the year from January to March — a time in which multiple “atmospheric rivers” brought severe flooding and heavy rainfall to the region. It was not explicitly stated if that was a contributing factor to the high number of deaths.

Also highlighted by Mejia, the amount of homeless homicides, 40, accounted for 12% of the city’s homicide total in 2023. For comparison, the unhoused population makes up roughly 1% of the city’s total population, indicating that the risk of dying by homicide was significantly higher if you are unhoused versus housed.

27 homeless individuals move into new apartment complex in L.A.

Racial disparity was also a major point of emphasis for Mejia. While Black people are only 8% of L.A.’s general population, they accounted for 33% of the total homeless population and 31% of the total number of deaths in 2023.

Also important to note, the 900 deaths in Los Angeles were only specifically those within the city’s boundaries. When expanded to include Los Angeles County as a whole, 1,467 unhoused individuals died in 2023.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose promise to get homeless individuals off the street and into housing has been a tentpole of her administration, released a press release Thursday in which she expressed condolences for those who have died while highlighting the work of her homeless initiatives.

“The focus of our work has been to take urgent action to save lives and, while the Controller’s data released today indicates a decrease in deaths, we know that there is still much more to be done,” Bass said.

LAUSD helps open permanent supportive housing complex in Sun Valley

Bass said thousands of Angelenos were brought into housing in 2023 thanks to efforts between the City and its partners. The City’s “Inside Safe” operations are continuing to take down tent encampments and help those on the street into housing, Bass said, with two operations being conducted just this week in East Hollywood and Shadow Hills.

The Mayor also highlighted efforts by the City to help get more homes built faster to address the region’s housing crisis.

“More than 14,000 units of affordable housing are now being accelerated as a result of her executive directive to streamline their development,” the Mayor’s Office said.

The City has also expanded its program to build housing on publicly owned land and increased its ability to “tow, store, and dismantle surrendered” vehicles, like RVs that present some of the most difficult challenges for breaking up encampments.

The Controller’s Office has released an interactive and sortable map that shows where unhoused individuals died in 2023.

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