Report: Homelessness increases 70% in state capital
– Associated Press reports –
Lack of affordable housing cited in report
– In California’s capital, massive tent encampments have risen along the American River and highway overpasses have become havens for homeless people, whose numbers have jumped a staggering nearly 70% over two years. Cities big and small around the country are facing a similar experience to Sacramento.
The data comes from the Point in Time counts the federal government requires communities to conduct to reflect how many people are without homes on a given winter night. The counts usually rely on volunteer census takers and are always imprecise. This year’s tallies were conducted amid the pandemic and advocates caution changed counting methods could have thrown off results.
Research has shown places seeing spikes in homelessness often lack affordable housing. Making matters worse, pandemic government relief programs — including anti-eviction measures, emergency rental assistance and a child tax credit that kept people housed who may have been on the streets otherwise — are ending.
Read the full story from the AP at PBS
Comments
