Bradley Says Census Missed Homeless, Asks for Recount

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley on Thursday asked the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct a partial recount of the city’s homeless population, contending that the bureau last week overlooked at least 19 shelters, hotels and treatment centers frequented by homeless people.

In a letter to the bureau, Bradley also said census takers did not do a thorough job of counting residents of other shelters and failed to count a number of people living on city streets.

Michael Weiler, assistant manager of the census bureau’s Los Angeles office, said Thursday evening that his office had not been informed of Bradley’s request for a recount.

Weiler said census takers had visited all facilities on a list largely assembled by city officials.

Barbara Martinoff, manager of the city’s Census Outreach Project, said that before the homeless count the census bureau had been provided with the names and locations of all 19 facilities in question.

The Census Bureau’s count was part of the federal government’s first nationwide effort to enumerate homeless people March 20.

Bradley based his recount request on a city survey conducted this week after numerous complaints were received from shelter operators.

At several shelters visited by census takers, there were complaints that bilingual counters were not available to interview non-English-speaking residents and that census takers came and went before all of the night’s residents had checked in.