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San Francisco Homeless Getting Older, Sicker As Population Remains Steady

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) — A survey shows the number of homeless people on San Francisco's streets has stubbornly remained nearly the same over the past two years — and that population is now sicker and older.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports new city statistics show there are 6,686 people without a place to live. That's 3.8 percent more than the 6,436 tallied in 2013.

The city's biennial homeless count, released Wednesday, shows 30 percent of the population is now aged 51 years or older — up from 17 percent in 2013.

The report, which must be produced every two years to qualify for federal homeless funds, found the number of youths on the street dropped 6.6 percent from 914 in 2013 to 853 this year.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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