Homelessness jumps 35% in 2 years in biggest Arizona county

Michael Warner, 61, who says he has been living on the streets for three years, talks about his situation during a one-day count of homeless individuals in Phoenix on Jan. 25, 2022. Warner said he lost his job as a quality control manager, then the home he was renting, after suffering two strokes and now cannot afford a place to live on his disability income. Authorities say the count showed the number of homeless people in Maricopa County, Arizona's largest, surged 35% over two years amid a housing crisis and economic hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A report released by the Maricopa Association of Governments says that 5,029 people in the county, including 3,096 people in Phoenix, experienced homelessness in unsheltered situations the night of Jan. 25. (AP Photo/Anita Snow)