To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
In this world, where everything and everyone is for sale, we must sustain independent media we can trust. If you believe independent journalism is critical to protecting democracy and the common good, please support Common Dreams this Giving Tuesday! We wouldn't exist without you.
"Without significant and sustained federal investments to make housing affordable for people with the lowest incomes, the affordable housing and homelessness crises in this country will only continue to worsen," warned one campaigner.
The number of people in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings across the United States set a new record this year, "largely due to a sharp rise in the number of people who became homeless for the first time."
That's a key takeaway from an annual report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
On a single night in January 2023, "roughly 653,100 people—or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States—were experiencing homelessness," with about 60% in shelters and the remaining 40% unsheltered, according to HUD. That's a 12% increase from 2022 and the highest number of unhoused people since reporting began in 2007.
"We must address the main driver of homelessness and housing instability—the gap between low incomes and rent costs."
Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness—the federal agency behind President Joe Biden's plan from last year to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025—toldThe Associated Press that extra assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic "held off the rise in homelessness that we are now seeing."
Research and advocacy groups responded to the HUD report by also highlighting the positive impacts of federal pandemic-era relief including emergency rental aid, a national moratorium on evictions for nonpayment, and the expanded child tax credit.
"The historic resources and protections provided during the pandemic kept millions of renters stably housed, and the success of these resources is shown by the decrease in homelessness over that same period," said National Low-Income Housing Coalition president and CEO Diane Yentel. "Just as these emergency resources were depleted and pandemic-era renter protections expired, however, renters reentered a brutal housing market, with skyrocketing rents and high inflation."
"Eviction filing rates have now reached or surpassed pre-pandemic averages in many communities, resulting in increased homelessness," she noted. "Without significant and sustained federal investments to make housing affordable for people with the lowest incomes, the affordable housing and homelessness crises in this country will only continue to worsen."
Olivet said that "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."
National Alliance to End Homelessness CEO Ann Oliva called for funding "urgent and overdue investments in affordable housing and rental assistance to keep people housed, as well as in proven housing and supportive service models that rapidly reconnect people experiencing homelessness with permanent housing."
Peggy Bailey, vice president for housing and income security at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, also stressed the need for a funding boost, saying that "we have the tools to ensure everyone has a safe, stable place to live, but we've failed to invest in them."
"Homelessness is unacceptable," Bailey declared. "We must address the main driver of homelessness and housing instability—the gap between low incomes and rent costs. That means expanding rental assistance for all people with the lowest incomes."
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge similarly said Friday that "homelessness is solvable and should not exist in the United States."
"From day one, this administration has put forth a comprehensive plan to tackle homelessness and we've acted aggressively and in conjunction with our federal, state, and local partners to address this challenge," she continued. "We've made positive strides, but there is still more work to be done. 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."
Academics and advocates have long criticized the department's approach, which relies on reporting from a single night each January. Samuel Carlson, manager of research and outreach at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, toldThe Washington Post last year that "the HUD data is just catching a fraction of the people."
For that night in January, HUD found that roughly 186,100 people who reported experiencing homelessness, or over a quarter, were part of a family with children, a 16% increase from last year. Additionally, more than 1 in 5 people were age 55 or older, 35,574 were veterans, and 31% "reported having experienced chronic patterns of homelessness."
"People who identify as Black, African American, or African, as well as Indigenous people (including Native Americans and Pacific Islanders), continue to be overrepresented among the population experiencing homelessness," the report notes. "People who identify as Asian or Asian American experienced the greatest percentage increase among all people experiencing homelessness," while the largest numerical increase "was among people who identify as Hispanic or Latin(a)(o)(x)."
The report adds that over half "were in four states: California (28% of all people experiencing homelessness in the U.S, or 181,399 people); New York (16% or 103,200 people); Florida (5% or 30,756 people); and Washington (4% or 28,036 people)."
While progressive lawmakers have introduced federal legislation to help tackle the issue—from Congresswoman Cori Bush's (D-Mo.) Unhoused Bill of Rights to the Housing is a Human Right Act led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Grace Meng (D-N.Y.)—such measures are unlikely to advance with a GOP-controlled House and divided Senate.
"When rents skyrocket amidst a severe shortage of affordable housing and a shredded safety net, more people become homeless. It really is that simple—and preventable."
Persistently high housing costs and the end of pandemic-era relief programs have fueled a sharp increase in homelessness in the U.S. this year, according to an analysis published Monday by The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported that homelessness nationwide—from Denver to New Orleans to New York City—is up 11% so far this year compared to 2022, when more than 582,000 people experienced homelessness.
If this year's increase holds, the Journal noted, it would mark the largest jump since 2007, the year the U.S. government began tracking comparable data.
"We and others have repeatedly predicted this increase in homelessness," Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), wrote in response to the new figures. "When rents skyrocket amidst a severe shortage of affordable housing and a shredded safety net, more people become homeless. It really is that simple—and preventable."
NLIHC observed in a June report that "during the pandemic, housing advocates and impacted people helped bring about the enactment of unprecedented policy measures, including $46 billion in emergency rental assistance (ERA) and a national eviction moratorium, that reduced suffering for millions of households."
"Additionally, economic impact payments, increases to unemployment insurance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and childcare tax credits helped keep low- and middle-income renters afloat," the report added. "Yet now that emergency resources are being depleted and many of these measures phased out, low-income renters are once again facing high rents and increased housing instability, with eviction filing rates reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic levels... and homelessness increasing in many communities."
"The Covid relief funds provided a buffer. We're seeing what happens when those resources aren't available."
As pandemic relief measures and renter protections faded in 2021 and last year, evictions surged and housing costs continued to rise across the country, with the median national rent surpassing $2,000 a month for the first time.
The Government Accountability Office has estimated that a $100 increase in the median U.S. rent is associated with a 9% increase in homelessness.
"The Covid relief funds provided a buffer," Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director at the National Coalition for the Homeless, told the Journal on Monday. "We're seeing what happens when those resources aren't available."
Data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicates that, in 2022, more than 138,000 people in the U.S. were chronically unhoused, meaning they were unhoused for a year or more or periodically unhoused over three years.
In a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency late last month, a group of more than 30 U.S. economists argued that federal rent control and stronger tenant protections are necessary to "meaningfully change the trajectory of the housing crisis."
"High rents and a lack of tenant protections negatively impact tenants and their families, as well as the larger economy," the economists wrote. "At the household level, high rents lead to housing insecurity, homelessness, health challenges, and economic precarity for already-struggling renters."
"At the national level," they added, "rent makes up about one-third of the Consumer Price Index, and rent increases have played a major role in the recent uptick in inflation and run the risk of posing long-term threats to the nation’s economy."
"My community is being crushed by the burden of high prices and wages that can't keep pace. Meanwhile, corporate landlords and other profit-driven companies are bringing in record profits," said Bowman.
A pair of progressives in Congress on Monday led four dozen other lawmakers in calling on U.S. President Joe Biden "to pursue all possible strategies to end corporate price gouging in the real estate sector and ensure that renters and people experiencing homelessness across this country are stably housed this winter."
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spearheaded the letter to the president, which commends actions his administration has taken so far but also stresses that soaring rent rates are affecting millions of people and more must be done to help them take on profit-driven corporate interests.
"No one should be unhoused in the wealthiest nation on Earth or have to choose between paying rent and basic needs."
The letter highlights various government statistics, including that the cost of shelter rose 0.8% last October, the highest rate in 40 years; median asking rents have jumped 31% while house prices have soared 48% in recent years; and a $100 increase in median rent is tied to a 9% rise in homelessness.
"The cost of rent for Americans is simply too high," Warren said in a statement. "In addition to making robust investments to address the housing shortage, we must use all our tools to protect tenants and reverse consolidation in the housing market that has given corporations unchecked power to inflate rents."
"This is why Rep. Bowman and I are encouraging the Biden administration to make use of these tools and adopt a whole-of-government approach to address the housing crisis in America," she explained.
\u201cI grew up in rent controlled apartments and public housing, and that housing stability is what allows me to be here today. I\u2019m grateful to my colleagues and organizers who are fighting to ensure everyone has access to high-quality, affordable housing.\u201d— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@Congressman Jamaal Bowman) 1673279388
Specifically, the letter—which comes just three weeks after Biden unveiled a plan to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025—calls on the administration to:
Along with the 50 lawmakers across both chambers of Congress, the letter is backed by more than 80 housing, climate, education, and immigration groups, including the Center for Popular Democracy Action, Debt Collective, Groundwork Collaborative, National Low Income Housing Coalition, People's Action, Revolving Door Project, Sunrise Movement, and Youth Alliance for Housing.
"My community is being crushed by the burden of high prices and wages that can't keep pace," said Bowman, who represents parts of New York City and communities to the north. "Meanwhile, corporate landlords and other profit-driven companies are bringing in record profits. People simply cannot afford to live anymore."
"We must pursue all options on the table that will help renters stay housed in the short-term, while also continuing to collaborate on efforts to realize long-term investments in our nation's affordable and decommodified housing supply," he added. "I look forward to working with the Biden administration to implement the policies outlined in our bicameral letter and do everything in our collective power to keep renters housed."