At the moment, there is a lot of talk about the social and geographic disparity, the leading causes of homelessness, the current trends, and the homeless assistance that is available in North America.
Homelessness is not a novelty in the US. However, keeping track of the US homeless rate is only a recent process. Perhaps not the best figure when looking at the bigger picture. However, when you translate these into overall numbers, things begin to look a lot different. With around half a million individuals living in a state of homelessness, things are not looking great. Still, on the bright side, it is a small percentage compared to the overall US population — which counts over Though, monitoring the exact number of the homeless population in the US is no easy task.
Seeing how there are no fool-proof ways of identifying them, there could be even more of them on the streets. Approximately 2. When you think about it, homelessness is a significant health risk for individuals. Having a roof above your head becomes a matter of life and death, according to homeless statistics. In a country where an increasing number of people are becoming centenarians, it is evident that homelessness is still a long way from that — if not medieval.
Plus, aside from the rough living conditions, a lot of people who become homeless already struggle with various health issues.
Homelessness affects population groups in different ways based on their gender, age, sexual orientation, race, etc. When it comes to age, almost 9 out of 10 people who live in the streets or shelters are adults aged 24 or more.
Meaning, homelessness predominantly affects adults and not children, which is a fair assessment of the situation. But, more importantly, long-term homeless individuals face extreme challenges to stay healthy in their old age. Indeed, their rough living situation makes it almost impossible for homeless people to experience old age. Homeless persons tend to be older individuals who, for health or income reasons, find themselves without a home.
As terrifying as it sounds, homelessness is more likely to affect people aged 24—50; hence, the homeless population is comparatively younger than the total US population. This means two things. Firstly, with the appropriate support, these individuals could rebuild their lives. Secondly, prolonged exposure to rough living conditions on the street will aggravate health problems and reduce the percentage of seniors among the homeless.
Child homelessness stats paint a tragic image. More and more children are victims of unhappy family or household circumstances. Thankfully, they are more likely to be placed in shelters than left on the streets. The youth living on the streets are more likely to be homeless after a conflict with their parents. In over 4 out of 10 cases, their sexual orientation is a detrimental factor of their homelessness.
Homeless youth stats reveal that a high rate of young individuals among these 3 states are, in fact, homeless. Hence, it just goes to show that these states lack sufficient facilities and policies to help young people thrive; especially those down on their luck. For an increasing number of US students, going to college is a financial challenge.
Homelessness is also a racial issue, as per our next stat:. Yes, that means that 4 out of 10 people living on the street are black. In other words, there are 3 times more homeless African-Americans than their overall percentage of the total population. For comparison, Native Americans only represent roughly 1. Hence, many Native Americans fail to make a living in a country that still fails to recognize their culture, needs, and rights.
Their share of homelessness is significantly higher, showing that disparities are a significant problem when it comes to tackling homelessness.
The stats reveal that men are not only more likely to be affected but they are also less likely to live in a shelter, putting them at an even greater risk. An army career is one of the most significant factors of homelessness in men. Homelessness disparities exist within the US, as some areas are more densely populated by homeless people. The rates of homelessness are higher in those states by up to 5. Indeed, the District of Columbia has a rate that is 5.
This begs the question as to why California remains known for its Hollywood scenes when the state is struggling to manage the homelessness situation. The count itself is conducted by project staff and community volunteers.
The CoC can choose to conduct their count either through a complete count or a sample. The sample method must follow HUD standards for counting and estimating the population. The PIT counts both sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. People included in the sheltered count sleep in shelters, transitional housing, or hotels and motels paid for by charities or government programs. Those who sleep in cars, parks, encampments, and other places not designated for regular sleeping are included in the unsheltered count.
HUD does not consider people who are temporarily doubled up with family or friends as homeless. This standard misses many people who lack permanent housing.
In particular, parents with children may be less likely to seek group shelters and interact with authorities for fear of losing custody of their children. HUD provides a one-night snapshot of an experience that is often fluid for people who experience homelessness.
The count does not include people who fall in and out of homelessness throughout the year. HUD itself cautions against drawing conclusions or trends from the count since data quality review is limited, reliability and consistency differ between CoCs, and methods may change between reporting periods. Given these limitations, it is likely that the PIT undercounts the number of people experiencing homelesseness. These estimates can best be thought of as a snapshot of the minimum number of people who are homeless in a community, a state, or the nation.
The PIT count identified about , people experiencing homelessness. The states with the largest populations of people experiencing homelessness were California , , New York 92, , and Florida 28, Housed within the U.
Department of Education, NCES compiles data on public school students experiencing homelessness during the school year.
Children and youth who experienced homelessness at any point during the school year, as reported by public schools to the U. Department of Education, and displayed on this map. Total People Experiencing Homelessness. Map Key. State Interagency Council According to our records, this state does not have an interagency council.
Thank you! We know how to end homelessness.
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