Statewide Count Finds 1,186 Homeless People in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Officials have counted 1,186 homeless people in South Dakota, a 14 percent increase from last year.

The homeless count was conducted Jan. 26 by the South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium in collaboration with community agencies and homeless service providers.

The consortium says the statewide, one-day count is a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness. Twenty-nine counties participated in the count.

The group says 59 percent were adults over the age of 24; 29 percent were children under 18; and 10 percent were adults between the ages of 18 and 24.

Seventy-two percent of the people counted were sheltered in an emergency shelter, transitional housing or motels being paid for by a nonprofit, while 15 percent were on the streets, vehicles or places not meant for human habitation.

The count in 2015 found 1,036 homeless people.

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