The Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH) has just released its annual count for January 28-30, 2009.
According to the organization’s census, there were 232 homeless people on January 28—a decrease from 292 in 2008 and 245 in 2007; 191 adults and 27 dependent children were counted in emergency shelters or supportive housing, and 14 were unsheltered.
Overall, there seems to be a small decrease in the number of people who were homeless: case in point, empty beds in shelters.
The emergency shelter at the Salvation Army saw a few empty beds this time around: occupancy dropped from 57 in 2008 to 49. PACEM, however, saw an increase in people seeking shelter: from 45 in 2008 to 65 this year.