The Great Disappearance of 2009

"Around 2009, 40,000 people disappeared from the streets of Los Angeles. The biannual homeless census for 2005, conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA), recorded 82,291 individuals as homeless at that point in time.  In 2009, at the height of the economic crisis, which rendered many more homeless across America, the number dropped to 42,694. What happened to nearly 40,000 people? Was there simply a counting snafu or did that many people actually disappear? And if they did, who would know?"