White House announces plan to address homelessness amid crisis in cities

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The White House announced on Monday a plan to address homelessness as the crisis grows in U.S. cities.

"Many Americans live each day without safe or stable housing," Biden said in a written statement, announcing a plan to reduce homelessness by 25 percent by January 2025.

"Some are in emergency shelters," he continued. "Others live on our streets, exposed to the threats of violence, adverse weather, disease, and so many other dangers exacerbated by homelessness."

Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the reckoning that the United States has faced on issues of racial justice, Biden underlined, "have also exposed inequities that have been allowed to fester for far too long."

More than 580,000 people were experiencing homelessness in January 2022, according to federal data.

Los Angeles and New York -- the two most populous U.S. cities -- reportedly have the largest homeless populations.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, on her first day in office earlier this month, declared a state of emergency over homelessness.