Homeless in America: HUD reports a decline
The federal government issued a report today stating that the number of homeless people in the United States decreased by about 30% from 2005 to 2007.
The report, compiled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development from data covering more than 3,800 cities and counties, cautions that declines in the number of chronically homeless individuals from year to year can be attributed to several factors -- such as increased funding from HUD, improved data collection and reporting, and variation in the number of communities reporting these data.
Still, HUD officials were mildly encouraged, crediting a new approach called "housing first," which shifts resources from emergency shelters to programs that offer permanent housing.
Maybe. But when I walk to work along G Street at 14th Street in northwest Washington, there's a corridor of homeless guys sleeping on the street and on window sills. And they're within sight of the White House.
-- Johanna Neuman
Photo: David Kohl / Associated Press
