What is homelessness?
Homelessness - n. Destitute of a Home -- (Webster's International Dictionary) How homelessness is defined by HUD (The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development): A homeless person is:
An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and an individual or family who has a primary nighttime residence that is:
A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);
An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodations for human beings.
This term does not include any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained under an Act of Congress or a State law.
Why are people homeless?
The root cause of homeless is prolonged poverty. In 1997, 13.3% of the U.S. population, or 35.6 million people, lived in poverty (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). While the number of poor people has not changed much in recent years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has increased. In 1997, 14.6 million people -- 41% of all poor persons -- had incomes of less than half the poverty level. This represents an increase of over 500,000 from 1995. Forty percent of persons living in poverty are children; in fact, the 1997 poverty rate of 19.9% for children is almost twice as high as the poverty rate for any other age group.
Homelessness is usually the result of a complex set of personal and structural circumstances that push people into poverty and force impossible choices between food, shelter, medical expenses, and other basic needs.
Often it is housing (which absorbs a high proportion of income) that must be dropped.
Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.
Other Important Contributors to Homelessness
Housing inequality and unavailability Poor work opportunities A decline in public assistance available Failure of the health care system Domestic violence Mental Illness Substance Abuse
How many are homeless?
Globally: It is estimated that one billion people in the world lack adequate housing, including 100 million who are completely homeless.
Nationally: It is estimated that, on any one night, 750,000 Americans will be without shelter and that approximately 3.0 million Americans will be homeless at some time during the year. Approximately 50% are in families -- 38% are children. 5.4 million families are at risk for homelessness due to a lack of affordable housing -- paying more than 50% of their income for rent. Statewide:
In Michigan, on any one night, there are approximately 24,713 sheltered homeless individuals, with an additional 41,338 unsheltered, a total of 66,051. These statistics include 34,622 adults and children in homeless families.
In Michigan, adults and children in families account for 52% of the total homeless population.
Youth 17 years or younger and not in families account for an estimated 5% of the total homeless in Michigan. This means that, in Michigan, there are at least 3,000 youth and children who are alone and homeless.
Locally:
- Many of the homeless in this area are young people ages 14-17 -- too young to stay in local homeless shelters. Some of these young people are exiting the foster care system, some have been “kicked out” by their families and some are runaways. All are on their own and alone.
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National homeless statistics source: National Alliance to End Homelessness
Statewide homeless statistics extracted from 2001 Michigan Statewide Continuum of Care: Gaps Analysis.
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