Homelessness on the West Coast laid bare: Bleak pictures give a snapshot into the 168,000 people forced to live on the streets due to high cost of living, rock-bottom vacancy rates and a roaring economy (23 Pics)

Official counts taken earlier this year in California, Oregon and Washington show 168,000 homeless people in the three states, according to an AP tally of every jurisdiction in those states that reports homeless numbers to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

During the same period, the number of unsheltered people in the three states - defined as someone sleeping outside, in a bus or train station, abandoned building or vehicle - has climbed 18 percent to 105,000 

Since 2015, at least 10 cities or municipal regions in California, Oregon and Washington - and Honolulu, as well - have declared states of emergency due to the rise of homelessness 

A new study funded by the real estate information firm Zillow and conducted by the University of Washington found a strong link between rising housing prices and rising homelessness numbers 

Nationally, homelessness has been trending down, partly because governments and nonprofit groups have gotten better at moving people into housing

That's true in many West Coast cities, too, but the flow the other direction is even faster. And on the West Coast, shelter systems are smaller

A homeless person's tent is pitched on a sidewalk in front of the wholesale store 'Lucky Ave.,' in downtown Los Angeles. Up and down the West Coast, nonprofit and outreach workers with decades of experience are shocked by the surge in homeless people and in the banality of the ways they end up on the streets: a prolonged illness, a lost job, or a family crisis -- unfortunate setbacks that for many become impossible to recover from

A person sleeps under a blanket on a beach near the Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego. A homeless crisis of unprecedented proportions is rocking the West Coast, leaving elected officials and outreach workers scrambling for solutions

Dave Chung, who says he has been homeless for five years on the streets of California and Washington state, eats a meal before bedding down in a bus shelter in view of the Space Needle in Seattle. Chung says he has been offered shelter many times, but chooses to remain outside due to the living conditions in homeless shelters and conflicts he has with other people

A woman who was camping in downtown San Diego sorts through her belongings on a sidewalk that was being sprayed with a bleach solution to fight a deadly hepatitis A outbreak. The increased number of hepatitis cases in the homeless population and the geographic spread of the disease led California to declare a state of emergency in October

A worker uses a tractor to clear a large homeless encampment in the woods near Seattle's Ravenna Park neighborhood on September 26. Residents were given notice and offered shelter beds and other services, but some people in the encampment did not remove their belongings before the cleanup began

Paige Clem sits in the car she lives in along with her husband and three dogs outside a church where free food was being distributed in Everett, Wash. Clem, who said she has battled drug addiction in the past but was now clean, said having enough money just to run the heat in her car and move it when required, was a daily challenge

A worker sprays a bleach solution on a sidewalk in downtown San Diego as part of an effort to control a deadly hepatitis A outbreak. The increased number of hepatitis cases in the homeless population, and the geographic spread of the disease led California to declare a state of emergency in October

Stanley Timmings looks out of the window of the RV where he lives with his girlfriend on the streets of Seattle. Earlier in the year, the couple lost the room they were renting in a house when the owner died of cancer, and they were unable to find another room or an apartment that they could afford, so they bought the RV for $300. In Seattle, about one-third of unsheltered homeless people live in vehicles, according to recent homeless counts

Timmings is seen through the door of the RV where he lives with his girlfriend on the streets of Seattle. Timmings was parked just north of Boeing Field, the King County International Airport, along with a group of fellow RV-dwellers who are periodically told by the city to move their vehicles - even if just across the street - or risk having them towed away. In Seattle, about one-third of unsheltered homeless people live in vehicles, according to recent homeless counts

The man poses for a photo as he displays a picture of the Christmas-decorated fireplace mantle he had in the house where he used to live in before becoming homeless. Timmings and his girlfriend were forced to move into an RV after the owner of the home they were renting a room in died of cancer. In Seattle, about one-third of unsheltered homeless people live in vehicles, according to recent homeless counts

A pedestrian walks past a man sleeping on a public sidewalk in downtown Portland, Ore. Rising numbers of homeless people up and down the West Coast region of the U.S. have pushed abject poverty and issues such as addiction and mental health into the open like never before

Deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Department make routine contact with people camped outside Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. Hundreds of homeless people regularly sleep in the area, and deputies often stop by to offer services and check on the safety of people camped there

Steve, who declined to give his last name, sits with his young son and a sign asking for money near an upscale hotel in downtown Portland, Ore. Steve said that although he works, he needs to ask for money to afford nights at budget hotel away from downtown and that he has been seeking permanent housing for over a year

Someone sleeps next to a wheelchair on a park bench in downtown Portland, Ore., not far from the city's trendy Pearl District. A few years ago, a large influx of homeless people camping in the park led to the closure of at least one business and complaints about public drug use

People line up for free food being given out in an area of downtown Los Angeles known as Skid Row. Official counts taken earlier in 2017 in California, Oregon and Washington show nearly 169,000 homeless people in the three states, according to an Associated Press tally of every jurisdiction in those states that report homeless numbers to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Ashley Dibble poses for a photo holding her phone displaying a photo of her daughter Aeon, 3, while sitting on her bed in Seattle's 'Navigation Center,' a 24-hour, 'low-barrier' homeless shelter. Dibble, who says she has been homeless off and on for about a year, is trying to find a way back into housing so she can bring her daughter back from where she is staying with the girl's paternal grandparents in Florida 

Trash from homeless encampments lines an entrance ramp for Interstate Highway 5 in San Diego. Rising numbers of homeless people have pushed abject poverty into the open like never before up and down the West Coast, leaving elected officials and outreach workers struggling to find solutions

Taz Harrington, right, sleeps with his girlfriend, Melissa Ann Whitehead, on a street in downtown Portland, Ore. Harrington, who is in his 20s, said he met Whitehead, who was already homeless, online and came to Oregon to be with her even though he knew they would be sleeping outside. He said although he was hoping to find work, his girlfriend becomes anxious when he's away, so he stays with her most of the time

A group of homeless people sleep in the courtyard of the Midnight Mission Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles. The mission's courtyard is open to any homeless people looking for a safe place to spend the night. A homeless crisis of unprecedented proportions is rocking the West Coast, and its victims are being left behind by the very things that mark the region's success: soaring housing costs, rock-bottom vacancy rates and a roaring economy that waits for no one

Tucked in a sleeping bag, Danny, a 60-year-old homeless man who only gave his first name, lies on an overpass above the 101 Freeway, one of the nation's busiest freeways, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, in Los Angeles. Although he never feels safe sleeping on the street, Danny said the noise from the freeway doesn't bother him much. 'You get used to it after a while'

A large homeless encampment is formed on the 'Plaza of the Flags' elevated park at the Santa Ana Civic Center complex Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Santa Ana, Calif. California declared a statewide emergency due to a hepatitis A outbreak linked to homeless encampments. Comparisons are being made to conditions more commonly seen in Third World countries

Lying on a urine-stained sidewalk, two homeless drug addicts, high on drugs, hallucinate in Los Angeles' Skid Row area, home to the nation's largest concentration of homeless people, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. According to Midnight Mission's Joey Weinert, a former drug addict who now helps homeless people fight their addictions, said many homeless use drugs and alcohol to cope with their lives

Sitting on a bed in a temporary shelter at Grace Baptist Church on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017, Bernadette Ortiz, a 39-year-old homeless woman, kisses her 9-day-old baby girl, Serenity, as her fiance and the baby's father, Ricardo Lopez, foreground, trims flowers they received as gifts after Ortiz gave a birth, in San Jose, Calif. The couple is moving into a studio apartment in a week, Ortiz's first home in five years