San Diego Union-Tribune: Regional Taskforce on the Homeless
Tally of '05-'07 Homeless in Region Likely Outdated -
Figures Precede Recession's Fallout
January 14, 2009
By Ronald Powell
A national report on homelessness released yesterday shows the number of people living on San Diego County streets decreased 26 percent between 2005 and 2007.
But any gains in reducing homelessness have almost certainly been reversed in the past two years, say local homeless services providers. In recent years, St. Vincent de Paul, the city’s largest homeless assistance agency, helped an average of 2,200 people a day with food, housing, counseling, medical care or other services.
Since October, the daily average has jumped to 3,400, said Father Joe Carroll, St. Vincent’s president. “I’ve never seen lines that big for our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals,” said Carroll, who has operated homeless-services programs for 26 years.
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