Photos: Counting the homeless

A man pulling a line of shopping carts pauses along 9th Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

July 5, 2014 2:41 PM PT

Federal officials say there are 36,000 homeless people in Los Angeles, but local agencies peg the number at 54,000.

Makeshift shelters crowd San Julian Street in the skid row area of downtown Los Angeles. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

A man stands in a homeless encampment beneath the 1st Street Bridge in downtown Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Homeless men in recovery programs line up for a meal at the Union Rescue Mission in the heart of L.A.’s skid row. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A man prepares to set up camp for the night on Winston Street in L.A.’s skid row. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A pair of men share a crack pipe outside the Union Rescue Mission in L.A.’s skid row. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A man who goes by the moniker “OG Coke Smoke” panhandles along Winston Street in L.A.’s skid row. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)