Homeless population in Southern Nevada increases

The Southern Nevada homeless population increased slightly over the last year, but the number remains lower than the high of recent years.

The Southern Nevada Homeless Census in January counted 6,490 people living on the streets and in shelters throughout the region. Results of the count were released Thursday.

That’s 280 more homeless than were recorded in last year’s count, but still an improvement over 2014 and 2015, when close to 7,500 homeless people were counted each year

“Even though the census shows a slight increase compared with last year, it is good to see that we continue to have fewer homeless people here than we did just a few years ago,” Clark County Social Service Director Michael Pawlak said in a statement. “But there is still a lot of work to do. Through our regional efforts and strong collaboration with our partners in the community, we will continue to work to prevent some people from becoming homeless and get more individuals off of our streets and into assistance programs.”

The county is required to complete the annual Southern Nevada Homeless Census, which is part of a national tally, to receive federal grants for homeless programs. More than 200 volunteers helped county and city social workers conduct the census.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.