About Homelessness
The dilemma of homelessness is extremely complex, affecting individuals, families, and communities across the entire nation. While it is certainly not a new problem, media and information availability have resulted in an increased awareness of the plight of the homeless and the extent to which homelessness robs people of dignity and potential.
Estimating the extent of homelessness is difficult. Different agencies define shelters and homelessness somewhat differently. In addition, information about the numbers of homeless in a location has historically been collected at a specified point in time, assessing shelter numbers and going into the community in an attempt to count the unsheltered homeless. The latter obviously can yield only tenuous data and risks significant underestimation of homeless individuals. Many will not be counted because they are in places researchers cannot locate. Only since 2001, and at the direction of Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has moved toward national study and reporting of homelessness longitudinally over time (Homeless Management Information Systems). Their annual reports to Congress have made use of both types of information in an attempt to capture and interpret all possible information.(1)
The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) deems that the best approximation of numbers of homeless people is from a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.(2) Their study indicates that on any given night in the United States 840,000 people are homeless. Extended over an entire year, between 2.3 and 3.5 million people will be homeless. The higher end of this range (equaling approximately 1% of the population of the United States) is probably more accurate since the figures are based on service providers to the homeless and not all those experiencing homelessness are able to access such services. Of these 3.5 million homeless, 39% are children (1.35 million children), and 42% of this number are under the age of five. This is cause for grave concern.
The faces of homelessness are far from uniform. In order to combat the problem, it is important to study trends and characteristics of the population. While the great majority of homelessness is concentrated in cities, it exists in all settings. The first Annual Homeless Assessment Report (1) found that 75% of homeless persons are in central cities rather than in suburban or rural areas. Because of differences in ways that information is collected, there is significant variance in reported demographics of the homeless. However, all studies indicate that single men constitute the majority of homeless persons.
Families with children have increased considerably, becoming one of the fastest growing groups among the homeless population. The U.S. Conference of Mayors (3) in a 2007 survey of 23 cities found that this group represented approximately 23% of the homeless population. As this group becomes larger and availability of affordable housing continues to shrink, shelter stays lengthen, reducing emergency shelter availability for others.
The 2006 the survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimated ethnic composition of the homeless. In general, they found that 42% were African-American, 39% white, 13% Hispanic, 4% Native American, and 2% Asian. It is, however cautioned that the ethnicity of the homeless population varies widely not only from one geographic region to another, but also between rural/suburban and major city settings.
Women fleeing domestic violence, regardless of the methodology or source of study, are consistently reported as a primary cause of homelessness. Veterans are reported as comprising between 11 and 14% of the homeless population in various studies. In addition, persons with some form of mental illness constitute approximately 16% of the homeless population in our cities (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005).
The previously reported high prevalence of addiction among the homeless in earlier studies is now under question. Studies conducted in the 1980’s measured addiction in a population which over-represented long-term shelter users, single men, and included all prior as well as current addiction measures. Such studies often resulted in reported rates of about 65%. The U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2005 reported the occurrence of addiction among homeless adults as 30%.
Rising rental costs and declining wages have put housing out of reach of many workers. The 2005 U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Survey found that 13% of the homeless in urban settings were employed. More recent surveys by this group have reported rates as high as 25%. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty reports that 44% of homeless adults work but are not able to earn enough to provide housing.
The National Coalition for the Homeless states, “Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. Poverty and homelessness are inextricably linked.” The U.S. Bureau of the Census reported a rise in the poverty rate of 12.5% in 2003 to 13.3% in 2005 – an increase of 1.1 million people. Lower wage-earners have been particularly affected by wage trends which include a real value decrease of the minimum wage, loss of manufacturing jobs, less availability of full-time employment, and a growth spurt of lower-paying service jobs.
Every state in the nation requires more than full-time minimum wage employment to rent a one- or two-bedroom apartment at 30% of income (federal definition of affordable housing). The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty further points out that, “There is no jurisdiction in the U.S. in which a person with a full-time minimum-wage job can afford a one-bedroom apartment at the region’s fair market rent.” When housing costs capture such a high percent of income it means that any loss of income translates into loss of shelter and homelessness. Future employment profiles do not promise relief. 46% of jobs which had the most growth between 1994 and 2005 paid less than $16,000 per year. (4)
Homelessness has consistently grown over the past 20 – 25 years. One way of measuring this growth is by computing a homeless “rate” (dividing the number of shelter beds in a city by the population). One study (5) found that these rates tripled between 1981 and 1989 for a group of 182 cities across the country. A review of the research conducted between 1987 and 1997 (6) in 11 communities and 4 states ascertained that shelter capacity had doubled or tripled.
Work done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty indicates that in 50 cities across the country, the estimated number of homeless people far exceeds the number of sheltered beds available. These studies and others suggest that, “This country generates homelessness at a much higher rate than previously thought.”
1 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Washington DC: Office of Community Planning and Development. February 2007. The report is available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/ahar.cfm.
2 National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. 2007 Annual Report. Washington DC. The report is available at http://www.nlchp.org.
3 U.S. Conference on Mayors. A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities: 2004. Washington DC. The report is available at http://www.usmayors.org.
4 National Priorities Project and Jobs with Justice. Working Hard, Earning Less: The Future of Job Growth in America, 1998. Available from the National Priorities Project, 17 New South Street, Suite 301, Northampton, MA 01060; 414/584-9556.
5 Burt, Martha. "Causes of the Growth of Homelessness During the 1980s," in Understanding Homelessness: New Policy and Research Perspectives, Fannie Mae Foundation, 1991, 1997. Available, free, from the Fannie Mae Foundation, 4000 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, North Tower, Suite One, Washington, DC 20016-2804; 202-274-8074.
6 National Coalition for the Homeless. Homelessness in America: Unabated and Increasing, 1997. Available for $6.25 from the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1012 14th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005; 202/737-6444.
Homelessness in America: The Facts:
From National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. 2007 Annual Report
• Federal funding for low-income housing fell 56% from 1976 to 2007.
• In 1976, federal housing funding was $87 billion, and 435,362 new affordable units were built.
• In 2007, funding had fallen to $38 billion, and zero new housing units were built.
• Nationally, only about 25% of Americans who are poor enough to qualify for federal housing assistance actually receive it.
• In 2006, 29% of shelter requests by homeless families went unmet, an increase of 5% from the previous year.
• 40% of homeless people went without food in the last 30 days.
• On any given night, there are approximately 840,000 homeless people in the United States.
• Over the course of a year, between 2.3 and 3.5 million individuals, including over 1.35 million children, will experience homelessness.
• Almost 37 million people in the US are living in poverty.
• 42% of the homeless population is African American; 39% is white; 13% is Hispanic; 4% is Native American; and 2% is Asian.
• 26% of homeless adults are veterans.
• Each month, 44% of homeless adults work, yet still do not make enough to afford housing.
• 37% of homeless single adults and 10% of homeless adults in households with children have substance abuse issues, while 22% of homeless single adults and 8% of homeless adults in households with children have mental health issues.
• The average life expectancy for a homeless adult is 42-52 years, compared to 73-76 years for the general population.Remember that while these figures represent valid research in the field, studies vary in methodology, scope, and time so "facts and figures" will reflect variance based on these factors.
Other Web Resources:San Diego Affordable Housing / Info on shelters
http://sdhc.netEffect Of Homelessness On Children
http://www.fhfund.org/_dnld/reports/SupportiveChildren.pdfNational Center on Family Homelessness
http://www.familyhomelessness.orgNational Coalition for the Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.orgHarvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies
http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2008/son2008.pdfHUD (Housing and Urban Development)
http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2ndHomelessAssessmentReport.pdfThe California Budget Project
http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2008/080212_LockedoutReport.pdf
http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2008/080213_CountyProfiles.pdfNational Alliance to End Homelessness
http://www.endhomelessness.orgNational Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
http://www.nlchp.org
Services Season Report Honored Donors How to Help About