The homeless population in Maricopa County continues to grow, but the amount of people without shelter has decreased, according to a new point-in-time count.
The Maricopa County Association of Governments determined a 7% uptick in homeless since last year as of January, which comes out to 9,642 people facing homeliness countywide.
Forty-nine percent are considered sheltered, whereas 51% are considered unsheltered. Of those sheltered, 77% are in emergency shelters, 22% are in “transitional housing, and only 1% are in the Safe Haven program.
Despite the increase in the population estimate overall, there have been some positive developments, such as the sheltered count increasing by 18% and the unsheltered count dropping by 2%.
Phoenix has the highest number of unsheltered people, with 3,333 counted. Tempe was a distant second with 406, and Mesa in third with 366, the report states.
The number of homeless veterans has gone up by 20% since last year, and the number of those who are “chronically homeless” has gone up by 103% since 2017. Notably, the demographics have remained “consistent” with previous years, with roughly two-thirds being men, mostly white, and between the ages of 25 and 44.
This data comes as the City of Phoenix was recently ordered to clear out a large homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix known as “The Zone” in March. “The Zone” sits just blocks from the Arizona State Capitol, in which hundreds of people, including families, live, according to Axios. The outlet reported that the city has until July 10 to take action.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
