Los Angeles County Homeless Population nears 90,000

LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 18: Donald Rayfield, known on the street as "Detroit", smokes crack cocaine in an underground storm drain on January 18, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Detroit became homeless when he began smoking crack as he grieved the sudden death of his mother on December 15 ending four years of drug-free living. He has enrolled in a rehabilitation program to begin this week. A recent comprehensive census and survey of homelessness in Los Angeles County by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development found 88,345 homeless people in the city and surrounding communities, far exceeding any other county in the nation, or the five boroughs of New York which by contrast have only 48,155 homeless people. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)