Modest gains in fight against homelessness, but many still struggle in urban areas

As many Americans depend on food assistance to make ends meet, access to housing also continues to be a problem. But a federal program that aims to end chronic homelessness may be seeing some modest results. According to a new report, the number of people experiencing homelessness decreased by one-percent between 2009 and 2011. The National Alliance To Prevent Homelessness attributes this to a federal program that’s spent more than $1 billion. Chronic homelessness -- defined as people with “severe disabilities and long homeless histories” -- has also fallen, dropping 11 percent since 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. President Barack Obama has set a goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2015, but his challenge remains ambitious, especially in many urban areas of the country.  From Philadelphia, FSRN’s Matthew Petrillo reports.