Across San Diego County, more than 8500 people are suffering from homelessness, almost half live on the street. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness released its 2010 annual report on Tuesday, which says the number of homeless people in San Diego has risen 11.6 percent since 2008.
The report showed a growing trend of homeless female veterans.
One of the things we are seeing locally and across the nation is the increasing number of homeless young veterans, said Patricia Leslie with the Regional Continuum of Care Council. In particular, Leslie said the number female homeless veteran with families has had a measurable increase.
The report also shows the number of homeless seniors and families has also increased.
The percentage of homeless in San Diego County has gone up, but a lot is being done to bring these numbers down, said Rene Santiago, San Diego County’s Deputy Director of Health and Human Services.
The data used to compile the report was gathered using the Point-in Time (PIT) Count and the Annual Homeless Assessment Report.
The PIT is conducted over the course of one day. Hundreds of volunteers spanned out across San Diego County streets and shelters, between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., and counted and categorizing the city's homeless population, according to RTFH.
