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 July 10. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued its 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, a national study that explores changes in homelessness nationwide. HUD's assessment concludes that while overall homelessness in America held fairly steady from 2007 to 2008, the number of homeless families, particularly those living in suburban and rural areas, increased.
HUD measures homelessness through the Annual Homeless Assessment Report in two ways: Point-In-Time 'Snapshots’- this data accounts for sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night, usually at the end of January. Homeless Management Information Systems - this data provides more detailed information on persons who access a shelter over the course of a full year. In the 2008 AHAR, 222 local communities contributed HMIS data to produce national estimates of sheltered homeless. HUD estimates that approximately 1.6 million persons experienced homelessness and found shelter between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008. HUD notes that the 2008 Report "is the fourth Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) and the first to provide year-to-year trend information on the prevalence of homelessness nationwide, the demographic characteristics of homeless people, and the way homeless people use the residential services system."
According to HUD, key findings from this new report include:
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About 664,000 people nationwide were homeless - either sheltered or unsheltered - on a single night in January 2008, down about 7,500 people (or one percent) from the previous year.
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The number of people using homeless residential programs during the course of the year remained steady. Between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008, approximately 1.6 million homeless people used shelters or transitional housing programs at least once.
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While the number of homeless individuals in shelters was about the same as last year, the number of people in families increased by 9% to 516,700, suggesting that family homelessness was on the rise at the time of the data collection.
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Homeless persons in shelters and on the street continued to be most heavily concentrated in urban areas. One in five people homeless on a single night in January were located in Los Angeles, New York, and Detroit.
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However, in the twelve months ending on September 30, 2008, the share of the sheltered homeless populations in suburban and rural areas increased substantially, from 23 percent in 2007 to 32 percent in 2008.
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There were early signs that the economic crisis may have affected trends in homelessness nationally. Notably, a greater share of people accessing the homeless system in 2008 came from stays with friends and family and from places where they had lived a year or more, suggesting that people who had been stably housed were becoming homeless after exhausting their housing options.
In addition to the release of the annual report, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who was recently elected Chairperson of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, announced that HUD is, for the first time ever, beginning to measure homelessness on a quarterly basis to gain a better understanding of the impact of the current economic crisis on homelessness. "The annual report tells us a great deal but it also begs many questions about how today's housing crisis and job losses are playing out in our shelters and on our streets," said Secretary Donovan. "The Administration's aggressive approach to economic recovery recognizes that during these difficult times, families in certain areas of the country are at extreme risk of falling into homelessness. With our new Quarterly Homeless Pulse Report, we will be able to better understand the impact of the current economic crisis on homelessness across the country." Read the first “Homelessness Pulse Project” report.
OVER $1 BILLION IN HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION AND RAPID RE-HOUSING PROGRAM AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Also this week HUD Secretary Donovan announced Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) awards to over 400 states and communities totaling $1.2 billion. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“Recovery Act”) included $1.5 billion to support community efforts to provide homelessness prevention assistance to individuals and families who would otherwise become homeless – many due to the current economic crisis – and to rapidly re-house and stabilize those who have become homeless. More than 500 states and communities were deemed eligible to receive a direct allocation of these formula-based funds subject to HUD approval of a plan for the use of the funds which must be spent within 3 years. Plans could include a combination of eligible activities such as short and/or medium term (not to exceed 18 months) rental assistance, housing relocation and stabilization services including housing search, mediation or outreach to property owners, credit repair, security and utility deposits, rental assistance for a final month at a location, moving cost assistance and case management. HPRP assistance does not include mortgage assistance.
"This is money that will not only spare families the hardships of homelessness, but will save taxpayers significant money in the long run," said Secretary Donovan. "Oftentimes, a little bit of financial assistance can make all the difference between a stable home and being forced to live in a shelter or on the streets." Learn more about HPRP. View the list of awards announced this week. Plans submitted by other eligible communities are being reviewed and further award announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
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