US homelessness hits 15-year high; California drives the surge

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

U.S. HOMELESSNESS IS AT ITS HIGHEST IN 15 YEARS, AND JUST 4 STATES ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN HALF OF THAT POPULATION. 

IN A NATION WITH AN ESTIMATED 653 THOUSAND HOMELESS, CALIFORNIA LEADS THE WAY WITH 28-PERCENT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

THE NATIONAL SURGE COMES WITH THE END OF PANDEMIC-ERA PROGRAMS, INCLUDING RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND THE TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF EVICTIONS COUPLED WITH RISING RENTAL PRICES MANY PEOPLE SIMPLY CAN’T AFFORD. 

CALIFORNIA NOT ONLY HAS THE LARGEST HOMELESS POPULATION, IT ALSO HAS THE NATION’S LARGEST SHARE OF HOMELESS LIVING ON THE STREETS WITH TWO-THIRDS OF THEM LIVING OUTSIDE IN CARS, TENTS, OR OTHER MAKESHIFT SHELTERS INSTEAD OF TEMPORARY HOUSING OR INDOOR SHELTERS. 

THAT’S 49 PERCENT OF *ALL* PEOPLE ON THE STREETS IN THE U.S.

FOR COMPARISON, NEW YORK WHICH ALSO HAS ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST HOMELESS POPULATIONS, ONLY ABOUT 5% LIVE ON THE STREETS.

CALIFORNIA’S GROWING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE ON THE STREETS COMES DESPITE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INVESTED IN EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND EMERGENCY HOUSING VOUCHERS, AND AN OVERALL INCREASE IN AVAILABLE BED.

BUT SLEEPING ON THE STREET PRESENTS A LOT OF SAFETY CONCERNS..

[MIGUEL MALDONADO | LOS ANGELES HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL]

“I couldn’t sleep, man. I couldn’t sleep in the street. One eye open and the other one closed, like watching your back and stuff. People rob you or beat you up and maybe kill you and stuff like that and hurt you.”

[SYLVESTER FLOYD | LOS ANGELES HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL]

“I was living on the streets and when I exhausted whatever money that I had, I had to look for shelter.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

ACCORDING TO HUD, THE COUNTRY’S HOMELESSNESS HAS SPIKED 12-PERCENT SINCE LAST YEAR.

HUD SECRETARY MARCIA FUDGE SAYS THE FIRST STEP IS RECOGNIZING THERE’S A PROBLEM. 

[MARCIA FUDGE | SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT]

“We have to say to America, if they really want to solve things like homelessness, poor education, they have to recognize and admit that the problem exists. And once we do that, which we have at HUD, we are putting so much money into assisting with multifamily housing; we are talking about senior housing. When I sit down with home builders and I say to them, ‘You have to build this many homes to just get us where we need to be,’ we are 1.5 million homes short of where we need to be today.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

FUDGE ADDS THAT BY DIRECTLY ENGAGING WITH UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS AND PROVIDING REAL SUPPORT, THE COUNTRY CAN EVENTUALLY ADDRESS UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS AND SOLVE THIS CRISIS.