Homelessness declines by 8 percent in Maryland
Homelessness in Maryland decreased by more than 8 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to statistics the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released Thursday. The number of homeless in the state fell to 7,689 from 8,390 the previous year, an 8.4 percent decrease, the department found. Maryland has seen a 29 percent decrease in homelessness in the state since 2010. The agency’s statistics are based on point-in-time estimates, which survey the homeless population on a single night each January. Homelessness among veterans in the state was down 22.2 percent (or 159 people) in the same span, the statistics said. On a single night in January 2016, HUD said, 555 veterans were homeless. Long-term homelessness in Maryland declined by more than a quarter — 26 percent, or 483 people — between 2015 and 2016, HUD said.