Number of Homeless Using Winter Shelters Up 20%

The number of homeless people taking advantage of extra shelter beds provided by Los Angeles during the winter months is increasing, according to the city’s homeless coordinator.

Pat Huff said an average of 1,300 homeless are using the nine sites made available under the city’s cold-wet weather program, which started Nov. 1 and lasts through March 31. During the recent rains, “We were at our capacity, 1,426 beds, which is up 20% from last year,” she said.

Huff attributed the increase to local job layoffs. She plans to survey area shelters to assess the demand. Countywide there are 8,300 shelter beds, triple the number available six years ago, and as many as 177,000 estimated homeless.