Counting the Homeless

It's no secret that homelessness and poverty is an issue that affects the U.S. as a whole. Recently, people gathered in San Francisco to help with the biannual homeless census. In order to receive funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city needs a number of how many homeless people are living there. The people walked the streets and counted the homeless resulting in $18 million from HUD. In an interview with the N.Y. Times, mayor Edwin M. Lee reported on the growing issue of homelessness in San Francisco.

...the numbers were rising because San Francisco was a national destination for the down and out. “People come to San Francisco for a lot of different reasons, including the weather and our success in providing services,” Mr. Lee said.

Although no numbers were released in the article, in 2009 San Francisco’s homeless count found 6,514 homeless, including 2,709 people literally sleeping on the street, 1,516 in emergency shelters, 394 in jail and 98 in hospitals and clinics. It is clear that this is a serious issue, but there is no easy solution. For now, the best we can do is to provide the best services we can.