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Survey: Homeless population in Bay Area increasing

An Oakland homeless encampment
Thomas Hawk
/
Flickr / Creative Commons
An Oakland homeless encampment

The number of homeless people living at sheltered and unsheltered sites have increased in the Bay Area, almost across the board, according to a recent point-in-time census.

SFGATE reportedthat Alameda County saw the highest increase in its homeless population since 2019 with 22-percent, including a nearly 40 percent increase in the number of people living in RVs, vans and cars.

The site also reported that Santa Clara, Sonoma and Marin counties also recorded single-digit increases in their homeless numbers.

San Francisco, however, recorded a three-and-a-half percent drop in its overall homeless population. The Mayor’s office released figures showing that there were about 77-hundred homeless people living in the city, down from more than 8,000 in 2019. The survey also showed a 15-percent decrease in people living unsheltered on the streets and an 18-percent rise in those living in transitional housing.

The counts are done every two years, but last scheduled year’s count was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.