No surprise here – substance abuse and mental illness play a much larger role in homelessness than previously reported.

The LA Times crunched the numbers and found that about two thirds of people living on the streets say they’re impacted by mental illness or substance abuse. But the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority only reported that 29 percent of homeless people are hurt by those issues. The Times report used the same numbers as the government agency. The homeless authority does not dispute the new report. They say the nearly 40 point difference has to do with how the data is analyzed.