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UH census finds 30% rise in homelessness
Harris County's homeless population has grown by more than 30 percent in the last nine years, with blacks accounting for 65 percent of those living on the streets or in shelters, a new study shows. At least 12,000 people, and perhaps as many as 14,000, are homeless in Harris County, said Ritalinda D'Andrea, a research professor in the University of Houston's Graduate School of Social Work, who directed the study. The last count, in 1996, identified about 9,000 homeless people in the county. D'Andrea said her figures are based on monthly counts conducted from September 2004 through January by teams of outreach workers. More than 6,200 of those counted were living on the streets, with the remainder in shelters that often were crowded beyond capacity, she said. The population count is part of the most extensive study of the homeless ever undertaken in the Houston area. D'Andrea presented a summary of the findings Tuesday to the City Council's Neighborhoods, Housing and Redevelopment Committee. The full report, including a plan to better meet the needs of homeless people and strategies for ending chronic homelessness within 10 years, will be presented next week to a committee overseeing the researchers' work, D'Andrea said. Anthony Love, president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, said local agencies hope to use the research to close gaps in services and find more effective ways to prevent people from becoming homeless. D'Andrea said the 12,000 figure is probably low since even the most diligent efforts to count the homeless are likely to miss a significant number. Harris County's overall population increased by 17.4 percent between 1996 and 2005, according to Census Bureau estimates. [more]