Gov. Terry McAuliffe

Gov. Terry McAuliffe

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said was a sharp drop in homelessness in the Old Dominion in the last year.

McAuliffe said at a Capitol news conference Wednesday that overall homeless in Virginia had dropped 10.5 percent, from 7,001 to 6,268.

That’s compared to virtually no decrease between 2014 and 2015.

The figures are based on a count done in a single night in January each year. McAuliffe attributed the drop to work done by the state and nonprofit agencies to combat homelessness.

Since 2010, homelessness in Virginia has dropped by 31 percent, according to the McAuliffe administration.