WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – The number of people considered homeless in Jefferson County quadrupled from May of 2021 to May of this year.
Last May, there were 16 people needing help from the county. In May 2022, there were 66.
Those numbers came out Tuesday night at a meeting of the county’s Health and Human Services Committee.
At this rate, the county is on pace to help out more than 500 people by the end of the year.
“What may be unique to us at the present time is the number of beds we lost last year. That just eliminates opportunities for individuals, and likely in those cases, the rentals were much less. So again, people who were not homeless a year ago are finding themselves in that situation this year,” said Jefferson County Administrator Robert Hagemann.
The county lost more than 90 beds after the closure of 661 Factory Street, and fires at both the Hotis and Rainbow motels.
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