HOUSTON -- An advocacy group says the homeless population in one of the state's biggest metro areas has jumped 25 percent this year. The count is by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. Volunteers also checked homeless numbers in neighboring Fort Bend County. Coalition CEO Connie Boyd told the Houston Chronicle that the increase in homeless numbers is partly due to the recession. Boyd said Monday that the Texas economy has fared relatively well, but sometimes when people moved to the Houston area to find jobs it didn't work out.
The group's Jan. 31 census found 8,538 homeless people, compared with 6,819 in 2010. The count affects how much social services agencies seek in government help.
Houston is the state's largest city, with nearly 2.3 million people
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