Unemployment and home foreclosures have pushed more people onto the streets, according to a new report based on counts of homeless people conducted around the nation.
The number of Americans without housing grew 3 percent, to 656,129 people, between January 2008 and January 2009, according to a report released this week by The National Alliance to End Homelessness.
According to the report, "State of Homelessness in America," 20,000 people have joined the ranks of the homeless.
The report shows increases in all categories of homeless -- individuals, families, those in shelters and those on the streets -- in 31 of 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Nearly four in 10 of those without homes slept on the street, in a car or another place not intended for human habitation.
One bright spot: The report said the number of chronically homeless increased only slightly from 2008 to 2009, thanks to "housing first" assistance models adopted in recent years.
In 2009, long-term homeless with mental health or substance abuse issues comprised 17 percent of the nation's homeless population, down from 23 percent in 2005.
In Washington state, where the overall number of homeless increased 3.8 percent between 2008 and 2009, chronic homelessness dropped 15.1 percent, to 3,073 individuals.
The bad news: Across the nation, roughly 3,200 more families became homeless, an increase of 4 percent. In Washington state, the number of homeless families went up 9.2 percent, to 10,696.
In most states, the recession also drove an increase in the type of economic factors that lead to homelessness, the report found.
From 2008 to 2009, the number of unemployed people in America jumped 60 percent, to 14.3 million, and 2.8 million people lost their homes, an increase of 21 percent.
In Washington state, the number of unemployed shot up 68.7 percent, to 314,207, and home foreclosures rose 35.3 percent, to 35,268.