WASHINGTON (AP) — Homelessness in America was on the rise even before the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically dragged down the economy. That’s according to a new report from the Housing and Urban Development Department. It provides a snapshot of the number of homeless people, both sheltered and unsheltered, in America on a single night. The one-night counts are conducted during the last 10 days of January each year. The report shows that 580,466 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in January 2020. That’s an increase of 12,751 people, or 2.2 percent, from 2019.
