A new federal report offers a possible glimmer of hope for the homeless crisis that has gripped many cities up and down the West Coast.
The number of people living on the streets in Los Angeles and San Diego, two epicenters of the homelessness crisis, fell this year. That suggests possible success in those cities' efforts to combat the problem.
Cities in California, Oregon and Washington have driven an overall spike in the number of homeless people nationwide in recent years.
This year's point-in-time count was released Monday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and shows that trend continuing. It showed 552,800 people without homes across the country, up by about 2,000 from 2017.