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America Couldn't Ease Homelessness Before The Pandemic. What Can We Do Now? : 1A "The virus [is] causing people to lose their jobs and causing economic problems and these are the kinds of situations that lead to more homelessness," says Steve Berg, Vice President of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

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America Couldn't Ease Homelessness Before The Pandemic. What Can We Do Now?

America Couldn't Ease Homelessness Before The Pandemic. What Can We Do Now?

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A person experiencing homelessness sleeps on the street in Los Angeles, California. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

A person experiencing homelessness sleeps on the street in Los Angeles, California.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Before the pandemic, homelessness was already reaching crisis levels.

A 2019 study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported nearly 600,000 people living on the street or in shelters on one night in January.

Now, economic insecurity from the pandemic could lead to a 45 percent spike in homelessness around the country.

We head to California first, where the state Department of Public Health recently reported over 500 new COVID-19 cases each week among people experiencing homelessness.

What's happening in the Golden State? And could it be a bellwether for the rest of the nation?

Dr. Heidi Behforouz, Alastair Boone, Steve Berg and Kelly Doran joined us for this episode.

This episode comes from our series of listener-selected shows. Find every show our audience chose here, here and here.