In a few months, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
will release the results of its count of people living on the streets of the Los Angeles.
A preliminary report released Friday suggests there could be a potential 20% increase in the number of people who have accepted and are continuing to live in permanent housing this year compared to last year.
KNX News' Craig Fiegener spoke with L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who said while homelessness has been a problem for decades, it's much different these days.
"What's different now is that you've got the cost of housing going up, which is forcing people that probably never would have been presented with being homeless on the streets," Barger said.
In her view, the changes are not all bad, saying there are more services and opposites than ever before for people to escape situations that would otherwise leave them homeless.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority did this year's homeless count last January. The new city and county numbers are set to be released in late May or early June.
The count is used to help secure federal and state funding for programs to house the homeless.
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