New Initiative Aims To Find Homes For 50 Homeless People In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - City officials have announced the results of a survey of the city's homeless conducted this week.
Dan Schwarz, Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity, says 250 volunteers came back with a treasure trove of information about life on the streets of Philadelphia.
"There were 528 men and women experiencing homelessness who were surveyed on the three dates shown. 268 of them, more than half, were found to have a health condition. Not a mental health condition associated with high risk of death," says Schwarz.
134 people reported being homeless for more than a decade and a 79-year-old man told volunteers he's been on the streets for over 50 years.
Much more information was gathered as part of Outreach Week, a local partnership with the nationwide 100,000 Homes Campaign. The goal in Philadelphia is to move 50 people into permanent housing by years-end.
Mayor Nutter says they took the first step this week, "When Pathways to Housing Pennsylvania moved the first person into a furnished apartment with a full refrigerator. Congratulations. What an effort."
Reported By Paul Kurtz, KYW Newsradio
