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Homeless man and woman sleeping in their car in California.
Once again tonight, countless numbers of Americans will sleep in their vehicles, and this is a problem that is getting worse with each passing year. According to
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the homeless population in the United States hit 552,830 in 2018,
but many believe that the true number is actually a lot higher. Because in order to accurately count the homeless you have got to find them first, and many homeless do not want to be found. But even if the HUD figure is accurate, it is still a great national tragedy to have such
a high number of homeless, and a large percentage of those homeless Americans are living in their vehicles.
Since they can move around so easily, counting those that are living in their vehicles can be exceedingly difficult to do. But we do have a few numbers, and they are definitely alarming.
A survey that was conducted in the Seattle area last year found that the number of people living in their vehicles had risen
46 percent over the past 12 months. And according to a report that was just recently released, approximately
16,500 people are currently living in their vehicles in the city of Los Angeles. The following comes from
the Los Angeles Times ...
Two years ago, Los Angeles began testing an alternative to homeless shelters called safe parking, giving people living in their cars a secure spot to sleep at night.
The first site was quickly deemed a success, so the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority agreed to fund nine more lots in the pilot program, with promises to expand.
Earlier this year, before the release of new data showing more than 16,500 people living in their vehicles, the authority put out a request to providers across the county to help them make good on that promise.
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