HUD Says Family Homelessness Increased Again in 2009

On June 16, HUD released its 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR), a yearly study designed to measure the scope of homelessness across the country. According to the report, the total number of homeless persons in America slightly decreased from 2008 to 2009, while long-term or chronic homelessness is estimated to have decreased by 30 percent since 2006.  Communities reported that the number of sheltered persons increased, while the number of unsheltered or ‘street homeless’ decreased, revealing greater success in finding housing for those who lack it. This is believed to be associated with the expansion of permanent supportive housing, which increased from 177,000 to 219,000 beds in the last 3 years.

On any given night in 2009, 643,000 persons were homeless and nearly 1.56 million individuals spent at least one night in a shelter. This represents a decrease in the number of homeless persons by about 3 percent and a decrease of individuals who spent at least one night in a shelter by 2.5 percent over 2008.

The number of individuals in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs dropped by nearly 58,000 people or 5 percent. Sheltered homeless persons in families increased by almost 19,000 people or 3.6 percent. When counting a family as a single household, the increase in sheltered homeless families was 11,000 families, or 7 percent, over 2008. This was an increase in family homelessness for the second straight year, which HUD attributes to the ongoing effects of the recession.

Looking forward, HUD is unsure of what the long-term impacts of the recession will be. A recent study by the Research Institute for Housing America discovered a nearly five-fold increase in the rate of housing overcrowding. This suggests that many families may be doubling up in response to the economic downturn. As the nation begins to come out of the recession and stimulus funding continues to be made available through the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP), it is possible that family homelessness will decline. To date, HPRP has served more than 350,000 people.

In reaction to the report’s release, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan stated “as a nation, we appear to be doing a better job sheltering those who might otherwise be living on our streets but clearly homelessness is impacting a greater share of families with children.”