SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Monday announced that preliminary results of the city's biennial homelessness count showed a 15 percent decrease in unsheltered homelessness and a 3.5 percent decrease in overall homelessness.

The Point in Time (PIT) Count is a biennial count of people experiencing homelessness at a given point in time. Last year's PIT Count was canceled due to COVID-19, and this was the first count San Francisco has conducted since 2019. The PIT Count was conducted on Feb. 23, 2022.

According to the new PIT Count, 4,397 people were experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 7,754 people experiencing homelessness (both unsheltered and sheltered).

Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, San Francisco has continued to invest in housing, shelter, prevention, and other solutions, the announcement said.

"We will keep focused on implementing our Homelessness Recovery Plan to add more housing and shelter, and working to address the very real challenges of addiction and mental illness of those who are struggling on our streets," said Breed.

  - Xinhua