Washtenaw County's efforts to end homelessness are meeting with some success. Local officials have released the results of last month's Point In Time count of the local homeless population. The report indicates that the number of homeless individuals has dropped significantly from 2013.
Human Services Manager for Washtenaw County's Office of Community & Economic Development, Andrea Plevek attributes the decline to their campaign's efforts, but says more still needs to be done to ensure chronic and veteran homelessness comes to an end in Washtenaw County.
The count is the first part of a larger campaign to end veteran and chronic homelessness in Washtenaw and other communities by 2016. Plevek says they were surprised to see the numbers were down from 2013, and they were also surprised to learn how many of the county's current homeless population suffer from serious physical health, mental health and addiction concerns.
Plevek plans on including providers in the next step, to increase the amount of affordable housing in the area and help the county's homeless population find safe shelter.
