Chronic homeless count down 30%, government says

[flashl]

SF Gate

Rachel L. Swarns, New York Times
July 30, 2008

Reduction from '05 to '07 may reflect changes in reporting

(07-30) 04:00 PDT Washington - --The number of chronically homeless people living in the nation's streets and shelters has dropped by about 30 percent - to 123,833 from 175,914 - between 2005 and 2007, Bush administration officials said Tuesday.

Housing officials say the statistics, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development collects each year from more than 3,800 cities and counties, may reflect better data collection and reporting and some variation in the number of communities reporting on an annual basis.

The tally was based largely on the biannual, one-night homeless counts cities receiving federal money for homeless programs are required to complete. Cities are instructed to attempt to count every homeless person living on the street, staying in a shelter or staying in jail or in a hospital with nowhere to go upon release.

San Francisco's most recent count, completed in January 2007, actually showed a slight uptick from 2005 - rising from 6,248 to 6,377. City officials at the time said better counting methodology resulted in a higher, more accurate count.

Isn't it amazing how this administration's new and improved reporting always show us the error of our collective thinking?

[kestrel91316]

1. Well, the colony in the vacant lot nextdoor seems to have pulled up

stakes FINALLY. And I am seeing fewer of them wandering the streets of my neighborhood. This could actually be true.

Sadly, though, I suspect many of them are dead.

[bdf]

2. Chronic homeless numbers dropped by 52081 between 2005-7.

By coincidence, over the same period, the US military recruited 52081 people more than it expected to.

I hope I don't have to point out that I'm joking. Unless they're schizophrenics and suffering from delusional psychosis, even the homeless know that the risks of dying from starvation or exposure out on the streets are preferable to the risks of Afghanistan and Iraq.

But I can't help wondering if part of the reason Cheney trashed the economy is this. Obviously, it's about making him and his cronies even richer, but so is the war in Iraq. And the military is running out of fungible cannon fodder. If your choice is between a below-minimum wage licking toilet bowls clean at a MuckDonalds clone or joining the army...

[bobbolink]

3. Color me skeptical .

Extremely

[flashl]

5. You should be. Immigration, veterans, government budget ALL have changed/improved since NEW reports

[norepubsin08]

4. Yeah Bullshit

I used to be an out reach worker on behalf of the homeless...each year during the first GWB administration they grew expotentially and I know the past four years have even been worse. Either that or they put them all in jail or prison. Fuck Bush and his phony numbers!

[bobbolink]

6. You could be on to something..... "the ultimate solution"

:(

[LBJDemocrat]

7. Just like the unemployment rate

You know, the figure that doesn't count people who have been unemployed for so long they've given up. Statistics, Soviet-style.