The nation's capital has one of the worst chronic homelessness problems in the nation and almost triple the number of homeless per 10,000 people as the national average, according to 2007 statistics from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
In the past year, family homelessness has increased at least 15 percent in Washington, partly because of the rising cost of living and the economic downturn. Young women with children looking for places to live overwhelm city services.
"Indications are that homelessness is going up," said Nan Roman, the president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. "Largely it's because of increased unemployment, housing costs and poverty."
Even before the economy collapsed last fall, the battle against homelessness seemed to be flagging.
According to an annual report on homelessness that the Department of Housing and Urban Development released last month, the number of homeless across the country barely changed from 2007 to 2008, but family homelessness and chronic homelessness rose slightly.
That was a change.
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