The U.S. experienced a dramatic 12 percent increase in homelessness this year to its highest reported level, federal officials said Friday.
About 653,000 people were homeless, the most since the country began using a yearly survey in 2007. The total in the January count represents an increase of about 70,650 compared with a year earlier.
The latest estimate indicates that people becoming homeless for the first time were behind much of the increase, which ended a downward trend in family homelessness that began in 2012.
“This data underscores the urgent need for support for proven solutions and strategies that help people quickly exit homelessness and that prevent homelessness in the first place,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a prepared statement.
The U.S. made steady progress for about a decade in reducing the homeless population as the government focused particularly on getting veterans into housing. The number of homeless people dropped from about 637,000 in 2010 to about 554,000 in 2017.
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The number ticked up to about 580,000 in the 2020 count and held relatively steady over the next two years.
“While numerous factors drive homelessness, the most significant causes are the shortage of affordable homes and the high cost of housing that have left many Americans living paycheck to paycheck and one crisis away from homelessness,” said Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, a federal agency.
Within the overall rise, homelessness among individuals rose by nearly 11 percent, among veterans by 7.4 percent and among families with children by 15.5 percent. More than 25 percent of homeless adults were over age 54.
HUD said that rental housing conditions were “extraordinarily challenging” in 2022, with rents increasing at more than twice the rate of recent years. It noted that the trend has subsided since the January count.
Officials also noted that President Joe Biden’s budget for this fiscal year has recommended guaranteed vouchers for low-income veterans and youths aging out of foster care, among other investments designed to reduce homelessness.
More than half the homeless people in the country were in four states: California, New York, Florida and Washington.
While about 28 percent of the nation’s homeless are estimated to be in California, its portion went up about half the national rate. New York’s homelessness went up more than three times the national rate.
New Hampshire, New Mexico and Colorado along with New York saw the largest percentage increases in homelessness. In all, the number of homeless people increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and decreased in just nine states.
HUD also noted that some communities bucked the national trend.
Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the surrounding region, for example, saw a 49 percent drop from the 2022 count to this year’s. Other communities highlighted for a drop were Dallas, which experienced a 3.8 percent decrease, and Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, which saw a 16.7 percent drop.
Houston has closed numerous homeless encampments across the city and saw a 17 percent reduction in unsheltered homelessness. San Jose, California, and Tucson, Arizona, were also cited for improvements.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
