Shocker! More Families Are Homeless

by Josie Raymond · 2010-06-18 07:45:00 UTC
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It won't be a surprise to anyone who reads this blog (or has brain activity), but the Department of Housing and Urban Development has released an annual report to Congress showing that more families sought shelter in 2009 than in 2008, so now it's definitely, officially, undeniably true.

According to the report, 170,000 families (including 535,000 people) stayed in homeless shelters in 2009, compared to 159,000 in 2008 and 131,000 in 2007. Experts say the number rose as job losses continued and homeless families wore out their welcomes while doubling up with relatives (which 30 percent of homeless families do before seeking shelter). Once the enumerated families sought shelter, they stayed for a median 36 days compared to 30 days the year before.

The majority of these families are headed by single mothers aged 30 or younger. Most of the children are under six years old. That's not to say that single fathers and two-parent households aren't also becoming homeless at higher rates.

The upside, if there is one, is that HUD says that fewer individuals in total were homeless (1.56 million in 2009 from 1.6 million in 2008), thanks mainly to the creation of permanent supportive housing units. You buying that? Officials have their fingers crossed that family homelessness will drop in 2010 as well after the influx of stimulus cash known as the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program.

On Tuesday, June 22, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan will join President Obama and other Cabinet secretaries as the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) releases the nation's first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness. The event will be broadcast live on the White House's website. Expect this data to play a part.

Photo credit: JoshuaDavisPhotography

Josie Raymond is a Change.org editor who has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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