The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) released its annual report, The State of Homelessness in America, using data from HUD’s annual Point-in-Time Count. While the report finds homelessness decreased by 15% from 2007 to 2018, recent years have brought an uptick in homelessness, with a 0.5% increase since 2016. On a given night in 2018, 552,830 people were experiencing homelessness, or 17 out of every 10,000 people nationwide.
Racial and ethnic minorities are significantly over-represented in the population experiencing homelessness. Blacks account for 13% of the U.S. population but 40% of the homeless population. American Indians and Alaska Natives comprise 1% of the U.S. population, but 3% of the homeless population. By comparison, whites account for 79% of the U.S. population, but 50% of the homeless population.
Of the total population experiencing homelessness, 33% (180,413) are in families with children, 18% (96,913) are chronically homeless, 7% (37,878) are veterans, and 7% (36,361) are youth under the age of 25 without parents or children.
Thirty-five percent of all people experiencing homelessness are unsheltered. Sixty-two percent of chronically homeless individuals are unsheltered. Fifty percent of youth, 38% of veterans, 10% of people in families, and 46% of other individuals experiencing homelessness are unsheltered.
Emergency shelters, transitional housing, and safe haven providers have temporary beds to serve 70% of the homeless population. Their combined bed-capacity is sufficient for people in families with children but not for individuals. The U.S. has a shortage of more than 175,000 temporary beds for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Permanent supportive housing is the predominant intervention to address homelessness today, with 57% of assistance beds dedicated to permanent housing options in 2018, an increase from 31% in 2007. The number of permanent supportive housing beds has increased by 92% since 2007. Rapid re-housing, the newest strategy to address homelessness, has increased from 19,847 beds in 2013 to 109,095 in 2018, a 450% increase in just 5 years.
For more information and state-level data, see the full The State of Homelessness in America report at: https://bit.ly/2yaGEgz