Some people would say if you can find a single person huddled on a street corner, his only possessions in a garbage bag, his only source of heat the steam coming from a subway grate, then there s a problem and a place to start. And that s all you need. But people like numbers. However, these numbers are merely estimates that are assumed to be realistic because they are usually based on information about the use of shelters and soup kitchens across the country.
Logic plays an important role, too.
And when you add them all up, the national figure must stand somewhere in the 100,000 to 200,000 range. But the actual number is still a mystery. It also estimated that 25 per cent of those people were children. The figures were based on a count of people who used shelters one night in January, including those at orphanages, foster homes, maternity homes, half-way houses, group homes, transition homes, overnight shelters and missions, refugee shelters and temporary shelters for victims of natural disasters. The CCSD warned about the accuracy of its figures as many shelters refused to participate while others said they sometimes housed as much as twice their capacity.