Annual Homeless Survey Aims For Accurate Census Of New York City's Street Population

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: A homeless man is viewed in Penn Station on January 28, 2014 in New York City. Over 3,000 volunteers canvased parks, subways, bus stations and other public spaces early Tuesday morning as part of the New York City Department of Homeless Services annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE), where it tries to gain an accurate estimate of the city's homeless population. The study is part of the federally required Point-In-Time survey, which serves as a snapshot of how many are homeless on any given day in a community. The results are used to devise ways to both better understand the nation's homeless population and ways to assist them in getting off of the streets. According to a recent study by the by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City's homeless population increased by 13 percent at the beginning of 2013. Despite an improving local economy, as of last January an estimated 64,060 homeless people were in shelters and on the street in New York. Only Los Angeles had a larger percentage increase than New York for large cities. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)