Pasadena’s annual homeless count is scheduled for this week and officials say recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the city will not hinder the operation.

Late last year, officials put out the call for volunteers to assist in the count and on Monday, Jan. 19, Jennifer O’Reilly-Jones, Pasadena homeless programs coordinator, said the city saw “robust volunteer sign-ups.”

“I do not believe fear of ICE impacted our ability to recruit volunteers,” O’Reilly-Jones said. “All of our volunteer teams are full, and we have a waitlist. We do not anticipate that outside factors will impede our ability to conduct an accurate count.”

Pasadena’s audit operates independently from the Los Angeles County survey, which also takes place this week.

The count begins the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 21 and into the morning of Thursday, Jan. 22. Volunteers will be out between 8-10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday morning from 6-8 a.m. It’s one of two statistical mechanisms the city uses to track Pasadena’s unhoused population. The homeless count is considered a point-in-time count that provides numbers just for the night of the count.

“The Homeless Count is a vital effort that provides critical data to guide policy and funding decisions surrounding homelessness in Pasadena,” a city statement read. “Additionally, the count offers a meaningful opportunity to connect with and support our neighbors experiencing homelessness. As in past years, volunteers will distribute cold weather kits throughout the count.”

The second is the annual count that tracks the homeless population and trends over the course of a year. The 2025 count was delayed to February due to the Eaton fire. It found that 581 people were unhoused the night of the count, up 4% from the previous year.

Included in the count were 12 people at shelters who had been directly impacted by the fire. Pasadena, Long Beach and Glendale are the handful of cities that do their own homeless count separate from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) count.