BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The mayor of Burlington, Vermont, has praised a 12 percent decrease in the homeless population in surrounding Chittenden County, but advocates say the data misses homeless families.
Vermont Public Radio (https://bit.ly/2pTzWfs ) reports the homeless population is tracked annually by outreach workers and social services agencies walking and counting the number of homeless people they see. Mayor Miro Weinberger says the number of people experiencing homelessness dropped from 100 in 2015 to 44 currently.
Rita Markley, executive director of the Committee on Temporary Shelter, says the numbers do not count homeless families who rely on friends or relatives for shelter.
The annual survey is conducted using the definition of homelessness set by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Markley says advocates are working to expand the definition.
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Information from: WVPS-FM, https://www.vpr.net
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