A local effort to end homelessness by 2016 named a new director Friday. Mikkel Beckmen, the former executive director of St. Stephen's Human Services, will take over the Heading Home Hennepin project begun in 2006 that aims to grant access to safe housing to all people facing homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County.

He replaces Cathy ten Broeke, who left the post in January.

A count of homeless people from January 2012 found 204 people living on the streets in Hennepin County, a drop from a similar count two years earlier. The number was higher than a count conducted in 2006, before the recession.

Shelters in Hennepin County often run at capacity, sheltering some 650 men, 130 women, 215 families and 66 young people, according to Heading Home Hennepin's 2012 annual report.

A special effort was made in this year's annual homeless count to find homeless young people.

Matt McKinney

@_mattmckinney