Homelessness up in Bay Area, down slightly in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homelessness increased nearly 9% in the San Francisco Bay Area over the last three years, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent to keep people off the streets during the coronavirus pandemic. Preliminary numbers released Monday show that more than 35,000 people were counted earlier this year living in shelters or outdoors in a federally required survey. San Francisco appeared to be the one bright spot, seeing homelessness decline slightly. Alameda County reported a 22% increase in this year’s point-in-time survey while neighboring Contra Costa County saw a 35% jump. Housing advocates said the increases would have been higher without strong government aid.