Homelessness in the D.C. area has decreased by almost 3 percent in the past year.
11,623 homeless people are living in D.C. and the surrounding area this year, a drop of 2.7 percent from the year before, according to a report released by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The report also found that chronic homelessness, or when people are homeless for prolonged periods of time, has decreased by 31 percent since 2011.
The study tallied the number of homeless people in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Arlington County, Va., saw its homeless population decrease by 18 percent, the largest drop in the survey, while homelessness in Montgomery County, Md., increased 23 percent since 2014.
Sixty-three percent of the homeless population counted in the study lived in D.C., the largest proportion out of all counties tallied.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she wanted to end family homelessness by 2018 at an event on campus in February.
This winter, local homelessness shelters like Miriam’s Kitchen faced pressure to house people after the number of homeless families in D.C. surged past last year’s total.