Statistics

Statistics from National

Student Campaign
Against Hunger and
Homelessness

Economic Factors

In the U.S., more than 3.5

million people experience
homelessness each year.
On a typical night in 2014, more
than 578,000 Americans were
homeless.
Nearly 2.5 million
children in America experienced
homelessness in 2013. Thats
one in 30 children.
In urban communities, people
experience homelessness for an
average of eight months

HOMELESS
NESS IN
AMERICA

There are three main economic factors

contributing to homelessness in the U.S.: Lack
of affordable housing, low incomes, and lack of
affordable medical care.
There is a big gap between wage earnings
and cost of housing that make it hard for
families to make ends meet.
Over the past twenty-five years, wages for
the lowest income workers have not kept pace
with the increase in living costs, or with the
increase in salaries of those in the highest
income brackets. This leaves the lowest
income workers unable to afford necessities
like housing, food and medical care.
The cost of health care and insurance has
risen dramatically over past years and can
cost a family up to $8000 a year. For families
living on low or middle incomes, this cost can
be prohibitive. For families or individuals that

By: Kirsten Sydnor

HOMELESSNESS
IN AMERICA

Social & Medical

Factors
While economic factors are the

Solution

The solution to chronic homelessness is

an intervention known as permanent
supportive housing, which combines
affordable housing and supportive
services that help people achieve housing
stability, connection to care, and
improved health and social outcomes.
Countless studies have shown that
permanent supportive housing results in
reduced use of emergency services and
lowered public costs. Some studies have
even found that permanent supportive
housing pays for itself or results in cost
savings by breaking the cycle of hospital
and jail use.

main causes of homelessness, longterm issues like mental illness, drug

addiction, and alcoholism can
worsen situations of poverty and put
people at greater risk of
homelessness. Surveys of people
experiencing homelessness show
that about 25% of the homeless
population suffers from some form of
mental illness, and the high cost of
health insurance leaves homeless
people without access to proper care
to treat mental illness. Drug and
alcohol addiction affect about 20% of
the homeless population who often
lack access to proper, affordable
care for these illnesses.

Political
Factors

Cuts in federal assistance for

housing programs and social
services have coincided with the
rise in homelessness in the U.S.
During the 1950s and 1960s,
federal housing programs and
services nearly eradicated
homelessness. However, during the
1980s, housing programs were cut
in half and the homeless population
in the U.S. began to grow once
again.
Programs designed to provide a
safety net for people living at or
near the poverty line, like
Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF), have faced
changes or cuts that have often
made it more difficult or impossible
for people to access services.