The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says central Ohio's homeless population rose this year by nearly seven percent to the second-highest level in more than a decade.
Local homeless advocates blame a lack of affordable housing. They say while Franklin County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state, wages haven't risen enough to meet the cost of housing. Franklin County's homelessness rate increased at a faster pace than that of the state and the nation. 31 percent of the county's homeless are families.