WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States saw a record 18% rise in homelessness in the last year, driven by unaffordable housing, high inflation, systemic racism, natural disasters, and rising immigration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said on Friday.
A total of 771,480 people, or about 23 per 10,000 people in the U.S., experienced homelessness in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing program, or in unsheltered locations, according to data released on Friday. This represents an 18% increase from the previous year, with children under the age of 18 being the age group that experienced the largest increase, marking a 33% rise with 150,000 children experiencing homelessness.
Black people, who make up 12% of the total U.S. population and 21% of the U.S. population living in poverty, represented 32% of all people experiencing homelessness, the data showed.
HUD attributed the worsening homelessness crisis to a range of factors, including the national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households, and the persisting effects of systemic racism. It also noted the impact of additional public health crises, natural disasters that displaced people from their homes, rising numbers of people immigrating to the U.S., and the end to homelessness prevention programs put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
