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%.
