(Seattle, WA)  --  The ongoing housing crisis in Portland and along the West Coast is contributing to a rise in the U.S. homeless population.  A new federal study finds America's homeless population is up this year for the first time since the Great Recession.  The study out this week shows more than 553-thousand people were homeless on a single night this year.  That's seven-tenths of a percent more than last year.  Researchers say the housing crisis on the West Coast is driving up the numbers.