April 17, 2018 - 11:13 AM
HYANNIS, Mass. - The number of homeless people on Cape Cod and the Islands has jumped in the past year.
The Cape Cod Times reports an annual count on Jan. 30 shows 358 people were living in shelters, motels and other accommodations, an increase of about 10 per cent from last year's tally. The largest increase was in the number of people in shelters like St. Joseph's House in Hyannis — from 64 men and women last year, to 95 this year.
Officials attribute the cold night to the increase, and say that the spike is coming from people counted in motels, which was 31 people this year, compared to zero last year.
The rise comes after an annual report on homelessness conducted in 2017 showed the number of people living on the streets was at the lowest level in five years.
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Information from: Cape Cod (Mass.) Times, http://www.capecodtimes.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2018