LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Even in California's affluent Orange County, the recession has spawned more homeless -- people who once had jobs and mortgages, officials say.
In an area where the median family income tops $80,000, the homeless figure tops 20,000, The Orange County Register reported Friday.
A local Salvation Army shelter reports housing more than 100 people a month who have never stayed in a shelter before, the newspaper said.
Existing shelters and homeless programs have been overwhelmed, officials say. There are no emergency shelters where families can stay together; men are separated from women and children, the Register reported.
Homeless needs have always strained county resources, said Larry Haynes, executive director of a non-profit group running shelters and programs in the county.
"A lot more people were living on the edge than we ever even anticipated," Haynes said. "So many people were just barely making it. It's absolutely shocking."
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