The number of homeless people living on the city’s streets increased 7 percent from a year ago, according to the City’s 2012 homeless census. And Jamaica Plain followed suit with two homeless people being found on its streets compared to none the year before.
According to the census, 193 homeless people were found living on the city’s streets. That is an increase of 12 people from the year before, which had the lowest number since 1997.
Two homeless people were found living on the streets of JP, according to Jim Greene, director of the Emergency Shelter Commission, which runs the census. Greene said last year that none were found during the 2011 homeless census.
But that does not mean there are not more homeless people in JP, as there are several homeless facilities here, including the 120-bed Shattuck Shelter on Morton Street. The census does not break down those numbers per neighborhood.
Other information gleaned from census include that the number of homeless men, women and children in the city was 6,992. That includes people in shelters and other programs and was an increase of 345 people from the previous year.
The census, which was the City’s 33rd annual, was conducted on the night of Dec. 12. The census, which is normally released during the winter months, did not come out last year until July, after a Gazette article questioned its whereabouts.