17% Fewer Homeless People This Year In Western County – Including Malibu
Written by 991KBU on June 1, 2018
Homelessness has dropped …. significantly … in western L-A County.
The annual homeless census this year found a 17% drop in the number of homeless the west side … including the Malibu Area.
A year ago … volunteers found 5,411 people living on sidewalks beaches or in canyons … this year the accounts found 44 hundred 85 homeless persons.
About three quarters of those people are living on the streets … not in shelters
Countywide … a 3% drop in the homeless population was discovered this year … the first time in four years that the population has dropped.
But more than 55,000 people were counted as homeless.
A study released by the county yesterday found a good news and bad news.
There was a 16% drop in chronic homelessness.
But at the same time there was a 3% increase in people experiencing homelessness for the first time.
The expensive cost of housing the area has now given the Los Angeles County the terrible distinction of having the highest poverty rate in the United States:
25% of the people in Los Angeles County are living in poverty.
Since the year 2000 … the median rent has gone up 32% … while the median income for people who rent houses has dropped 3%.
The study says more than a half million new housing units are needed in LA County to meet the demand.
We have a link to the county’s homeless study results … posted at the KBUU website.
http://documents.latimes.com/2018-los-angeles-homeless-count/
