HONOLULU (AP) - Preliminary figures show the number of people living on the streets of Oahu has increased by 12 percent over the last year.
The Point in Time Count conducted in late January recorded 2,401 unsheltered homeless people on the island, increasing from the 2,145 counted a year earlier.
The number of people counted in shelters was down by 19 percent, dropping from 2,350 recorded last year to 1,910.
More than 700 volunteers assisted in the count across Oahu. The volunteers asked people living on the streets and in shelters to answer a 22-question survey, and they distributed more than 8,000 hygiene kits.
The Partners in Care organization coordinated the count.
Sam Millington, the organization’s executive director, says the numbers are not absolute but provide a snapshot.
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