WHITE PLAINS – An annual survey looking into Westchester County’s homeless population showed it down since 2014, with one category – chronically homeless households – down 36 percent.
“These results validate our efforts across the board to get the homeless into permanent housing,” said County Executive Robert Astorino. “Shelters are necessary, but they are only a temporary solution. By focusing on the homeless as individuals, and aggressively addressing their needs and challenges, we have significantly reduced the time it takes to transition from shelters to permanent housing.”
The Point-In-Time survey showed chronically homeless households in the county down 36 percent from 205 in 2014 to 131 in 2016. The same study reflected a drop in total homeless numbers from 2,138 to 1,750, a decrease of 18.2 percent over the same period.
Required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Point-In-Time count includes sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons and is taken one single night in January. All homeless persons in emergency shelter or transitional housing are included in the annual count along with an actual count of the unsheltered.
