Homeless snapshot finds shifting numbers

WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A snapshot of homeless in the United States found that the homeless population declined in Wichita, Kan., but rose in Raleigh, N.C.

Although the national figures aren't scheduled for release until 2008, Wichita officials said the number of homeless in the city fell from 589 in January 2006 to 526 in this past January's count, the Christian Science Monitor reported Wednesday.

Officials in Raleigh said the homeless population there rose from 1,726 to 1,820.

The National Point-in-Time Survey also found that during a single day in Florida's Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, 1,300 children were homeless.

Although critics have questioned the accuracy and methodology of the count, advocates for the homeless say the survey marks a step in the right direction.

"The good part of the (snapshot survey) is that it's created a sense of movement, and both the private- and public-sector people are starting to say, 'Yeah, we need to do something,'" said Joel John Roberts, executive director of People Assisting the Homeless in Los Angeles and author of the satirical book "How to Increase Homelessness."