Volunteers counted 365 unsheltered people last year in Topeka during the annual Point in Time Homeless Count. Meanwhile, one chronically homeless person costs taxpayers an average of more than $35,000 a year, says the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Multiply those and the total is $12.78 million. Compare that to the roughly $76,000 Topeka’s city government is considering paying a consultant to help the city better deal with homelessness and “that $76,000 is a pretty small number,” said city manager Stephen Wade.
Source: CJonline
