The homeless population in Alachua County and the region significantly dropped over the last year — a clear sign that efforts to get them into housing is working, officials said.
The homeless population in the county dropped 21% in the survey of the population from Jan. 26 through Jan. 31. It took longer than normal to get the results due to the pandemic.
Officials said while more people are getting permanent housing, more government money is needed to support those efforts.
The latest Point in Time (PIT) survey results released Monday by the North Central Florida Alliance for the Homeless and Hungry shows there were 521 people in Alachua County who were homeless during the most recent count, down from 657 the year before.