Census results: 890 homeless were at shelters one day in January

[The Straight Story]

Census results: 890 homeless were at shelters one day in January
BY LOUIS MEDINA, Californian staff writer


The results of the Kern County Homeless Collaborative’s 2007 countywide census of Kern’s homeless show an increased need for services compared to 2006, according to Nick Ortiz of the United Way of Kern County.

The “housing/homeless census” conducted Jan. 25, which Ortiz called a “snapshot” of Kern’s homeless population during a specific point in time, revealed the following:

Sheltered homeless

There were 890 homeless — 173 or almost one-fifth of them children — who spent the night of Jan. 24 at emergency shelters or transitional housing in Bakersfield and Taft. These numbers were up considerably from their 2006 counterparts: 681 and 138, respectively, Ortiz said. But he clarified that the homeless in four more facilities were counted this year than last year.

Unsheltered homeless In the Bakersfield Metro area, 534 homeless people spent the night of Jan. 24 in an “unsheltered” location: outdoors; on the street; in campsites; in abandoned buildings or structures not designed for human habitation such as construction sites, garages or sheds; or in vehicles. The corresponding number for 2006 was 330.

http://www.bakersfield.com/619/story/99766.html

This is just one sampling from one county (Kern) and did not include all the areas in the county (Ridgecrest and others were not included).

The jerks in the rw don't want to help fund programs and housing for people, a 'waste' of money, but they will drop hundreds of billions on a war and bitch if they are not given 100 billion more when asked for - in fact, they act incredulous that anyone would question the 'need' for it.