According to the ministry, in January 2024, more than 770,000 people were estimated to be without permanent housing or shelter.
The number of homeless people in the United States rose to new record numbers last year. This was announced on Friday by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in their annual report.
According to the ministry, in January 2024, more than 770,000 people were estimated to be without permanent housing or shelter. The number was 18 percent higher than in January of the previous year, which even then broke the previous record.
According to the report, the most recent figure means that there are 2.3 homeless people in the United States for every thousand people. I saw in spite of that The US economy is still the largest in the world.
According to the ministry, the reasons for the sad development were probably increased housing costs, rising house prices and inflation in general.
More homeless children as well
The number of children who experienced homelessness in the past year in the United States rose by a third from the previous year.
The report cited increased immigration and natural disasters such as hurricanes that forced people to leave their homes as reasons for the increase in homelessness. Other reasons cited were poor wage growth among middle- and lower-income earners and the impact of systemic racism in society – as before, a significant proportion of the homeless were black, African-American or African.
According to HUD, the fact that the measures introduced during the pandemic to combat homelessness in the United States have also contributed to the situation.
Head of Ministry Adrianne Todman pointed out that the figures for this year are almost a year old and no longer reflect the current situation.
– (It is still) important that we focus on evidence-based measures to prevent and end homelessness, Todman said in his statement.