Homelessness has decreased slightly in the District since last year, according to the preliminary results of an annual survey of indigent men, women and children living in local encampments, shelters, transitional housing programs and encampments.
The annual count, conducted late in January, found a total of 6,865 homeless people, a 1.4 percent decrease from 2012. The figure included 512 living on the street, 4,010 in emergency shelters and 2,343 in transitional programs.
The new numbers included in the annual survey also indicated a 3.1 percent decline in the number of homeless families living in the District. A total of 983 families were reported this year, down from 1,014 in 2012. However, due to the size of some of the families, the number of homeless people living in familes decreased by just .6 percent since last year.
Officials from the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (CPPH), which conducted the annual count, credited the decrease to the city’s investment in homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing, and permanent supportive housing programs.
According to the count, 643 families and 762 individuals who were either homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness are now living in such programs, funded by the city, the U.S. Department of Human Serices and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“From this data, it looks like our efforts are beginning to succeed,” said CPPH executive director Sue Marshall.
