SAN BERNARDINO - (INT) - The County is the first in the nation to focus on assisting 'unaccompanied' homeless women.

Final numbers from the annual Homeless Point-in-Time Count found identified 284 unaccompanied homeless women on the streets or in shelters throughout the county. Over a third of them, 38 percent, were found to be chronically homeless. Those women account for approximately 1 out of 4 unsheltered homeless individuals.

"These women, unaccompanied by children on the streets or in the shelters of the county, are extremely vulnerable by virtue of being subjected to abuse earlier in their lives," said Philip Mangano, former homeless czar under Presidents Bush and Obama, now working with the County on creating strategies to reduce homelessness. "San Bernardino County will be the first in the nation to step up and actively prioritize this population and seek solutions to remedy their plight," Mangano said.

On January 26, 2017, there were 1,866 homeless individuals who were staying either in a shelter, transitional housing, or living unsheltered. Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed were sheltered while 63 percent were not, according to the San Bernardino County 2017 Homeless Count and Survey Final Report.

Compared to the 2016 findings, there was a 1.1 percent decrease.

Story Date: April 29, 2017