The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County announced today that the number of homeless people in Hillsborough stands at 2,275 — a 47 percent decrease from the 2011 count of 4,681.
You may not be familiar with that 4,681 number, since the Coalition announced in 2011 that there were over 17,000 homeless people in the county, a stunningly high number that seemed to indicate that the problem here was worse here than anywhere else in the nation. The 17,000 number got a lot of press at the time.
While it has been rough for the homeless in Hillsborough, that 17,000 was based on new reporting requirements that included thousands of people (including adults and children) who were "doubling up" — that is, living with friends or family because they didn't have a place of their own. If you remove those folks, the 2011 figure drops to 4,681.
Although the method of tabulation can be confusing, the fact is that the 2,275 figure announced today represents a 47 percent reduction from the 2011 count — a dramatic decrease, to say the least.
This article appears in May 16-22, 2013.