By Bill O’Boyle – Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
Published: December 16th, 2017
WILKES-BARRE — Homelessness has declined in Pennsylvania, according to the latest national estimate from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found the total number of persons experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania on a single night in 2017 fell 7.8 percent.
Local communities in Pennsylvania reported a 12.9 percent decrease in the number of homeless people in families and a 15.2 percent decrease in veteran homelessness.
“In many high-cost areas of our country, especially along the West Coast, the severe shortage of affordable housing is manifesting itself on our streets,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson in a news release. “With rents rising faster than incomes, we need to bring everybody to the table to produce more affordable housing and ease the pressure that is forcing too many of our neighbors into our shelters and onto our streets. This is not a federal problem — it’s everybody’s problem.”
To read more, go to http://www.timesleader.com/news/685771/hud-report-shows-reduction-in-overall-homelessness-in-pennsylvania.
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