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| by Irene Lew Research Assistant |
Since the 2010 release of Opening Doors, the first federal strategic plan to end and prevent homelessness,
total homelessness in the US is now down 10 percent, from about 640,500 people in
2010 to 578,400 by 2014 according to HUD’s annual Point-in-Time
(PIT) counts. This decline has been driven by a significant ramp-up in federal
resources devoted to ending homelessness over the past decade. Although federal
investment has resulted in substantial reductions in homelessness among at-risk
groups such as veterans and individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, homelessness among families has persisted. According to HUD’s most recent PIT count, more
than a third (37 percent) of the total homeless population in the US is made up
of people in families, with children under the age of 18 accounting for nearly
60 percent of this group. In fact, compared to other at-risk groups, homelessness
among persons in families has declined at a much slower rate since 2007 (Figure 1).
Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress: Part 1- Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness.
Most notably, much of the decline in family homelessness in
recent years has occurred among the unsheltered population (those living on the
streets, in abandoned buildings, vehicles or parks), while the number of sheltered
homeless people in families (those living in emergency shelters, transitional
housing programs, or safe havens) continues to rise steadily (Figure 2). Nearly nine in ten homeless
people in families were staying in shelters in 2014. In New York City, where
homelessness has reached historic proportions, the advocacy group Coalition for
the Homeless estimates that homeless families make up the majority of homeless
shelter residents and that the average number of homeless families in shelters
rose by 67 percent between January 2005 and January 2015.
Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress: Part 1- Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness.
Since the end of the recession, the affordable housing
shortage has continued to play a major role in rising rates of family
homelessness. Between 2010 and 2014, in high-cost locations where affordable
rentals are in short supply, the number of homeless people in families
increased substantially: by 50 percent in the District of Columbia, 41 percent
in Massachusetts, and 22 percent in New York. The problem is acute in urban areas across the
country. According to the 2014 US Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Survey, 83 percent of the 25
cities surveyed cited the lack of affordable housing as a leading cause of
homelessness among families with children in cities in 2014, with over a third
(39 percent) of the 25 survey cities reporting that they expected the number of
homeless families to increase moderately in the coming year. Indeed, family
homelessness remains concentrated in urban areas, with 45 percent of all
homeless people in families living in major cities in 2014. Nearly 20 percent
of homeless people in families in the US lived in New York City, which had the
largest concentration of homeless people in families in the country (41,633) in
2014, followed by Los Angeles City and County in a distant second (6,229). The
concentrations of homeless people in families in New York City and Los Angeles
also reflect the rising market rents in these metro areas, which have forced a
growing share of households to allocate higher shares of their monthly incomes to
housing costs. In 2013, 32 percent of renters in the Los Angeles metro area and
30 percent of renters in the New York metro area spent more than 50 percent of
their monthly household income on housing, according to the American Community
Survey.
The best housing and
services interventions for assisting homeless families have been a matter of
some debate. Because families typically do not face long-term episodes of homelessness—indeed,
HUD’s PIT count found that just 7 percent of homeless people in families were
chronically homeless in 2014—one strategy often touted as suitable for helping
them has been rapid re-housing, which focuses on quickly moving families out of
shelters into permanent housing through the use of short-term rental subsidies.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about three-quarters of families entering shelter
are able to exit quickly with little or no assistance and never return. However, results released from HUD’s Family Options study last month found that rapid re-housing was much less
effective than a permanent housing subsidy, such as a housing choice voucher, in
reducing shelter usage and improving housing stability of homeless families. Rapid
re-housing may not work for all families, particularly those who are struggling
with a host of long-term issues that may inhibit them from securing stable
employment and achieving housing stability once their rental assistance
expires.
For homeless families that require more intensive
psychosocial support, permanent supportive housing, which pairs affordable
housing with supportive services in order to achieve long-term housing
stability, may be a more appropriate strategy. Through on-site services, permanent
supportive housing can address the often complex causes of homelessness among
families, such as histories of domestic violence, mental illness, and substance abuse.
Yet the current inventory of permanent supportive housing largely targets
single adults, especially those with chronic patterns of homelessness. Although
the number of permanent supportive housing beds has increased significantly since
2007, a substantial share of permanent supportive housing beds are set aside
for individuals rather than families (Figure
3). The limited availability of subsidies
for the services component, as well as higher operating expenses
compared to affordable housing, present challenges for expanding the supply of
permanent supportive housing. However, given the rising number of homeless
families, it is important for policymakers, local communities, and practitioners
to collaborate on interventions that address the continuum of needs that
homeless families face, whether they be in the form of short-term rental
subsidies, a housing voucher or permanent supportive housing.
Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report
to Congress: Part 1.
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