Homelessness Up 6% In Morris County, Drops 12% Statewide, Study Finds

While New Jersey saw a decrease of more than 12-percent in the amount of homeless people in the state in 2016, Morris County’s figures rose 6-percent, a new study shows.

NJCounts, a program that assesses the number of homeless people in the state, found 1,270 less people living on the streets in 2016 as compared to 2015, but that figure rose year-over-year in Morris from 384 to 410.

Homeless persons include those in a safe haven, unsheltered, in transitional housing, or in emergency shelter. The state showed 13,025 overall in 2012, and has decreased steadily each year.

Morris County makes up 4.6-percent of the overall total in the state, up from 3.8-percent in 2015.

The count took place during an overnight period on Jan. 26 of this year.

Morris County saw a substantial drop in homelessness from 2011 to 2012, but has seen an increase nearly every since.

• 2011: 446 total homeless
• 2012: 281
• 2013: 346
• 2014: 389
• 2015: 384
• 2016: 410

The data also showed 65-percent of those counted had previous address in Morris County, while 35-percent were from other counties.

A further breakdown showed 58.8-percent of the homeless were male, while 41.2-percent were female, and 64.9-percent where white, followed by 34.1-percent of homeless identifying as black or African American.

See the full Morris County 2016 report here.

Patch File Photo