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The United States has seen an 18.1% increase in homelessness this year, which federal officials attribute to a growing number of asylum seekerslack of affordable housing and natural disasters.
On Friday, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its Annual Homelessness Assessment Report 2024: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates (PIT)which documents the number of people in shelters, temporary accommodation and unprotected conditions.
The report showed that more than 770,000 people experiencing homelessness one night in January 2024, which is an increase of 18% compared to 2023.
More than a dozen communities reported data to HUD that showed an increase overall homelessness it is the result of an increasing number of asylum seekers arriving in their communities.
A dog barks as a homeless man sleeps in the yard of an abandoned house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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Migration had a particularly significant impact on family homelessness, which increased by 39% from 2023 to 2024, according to the report. In the 13 communities that reported being affected by migration, family homelessness more than doubled.
In the remaining 373 communities, the increase in families experiencing homelessness was less than 8%, officials noted.
Rents have stabilized significantly since January 2024, and HUD added 435,000 new rental units in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the report.
The income tax count came at the end of a significant increase in rental costs, “as a result of the pandemic and nearly a decade of underconstruction housing,” officials said. “Rents have been flat or even down in many cities since January.”
An aerial photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina along the Pacific Ocean following wildfires in West Maui, Hawaii. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
HUD said the Maui fire, along with other natural disasters, affected the increase in homelessness. Thousands affected by the fire slept in emergency shelters on the night of the PIT count.
“This report reflects data collected a year ago and may not represent current circumstances, given changed policies and conditions,” department officials wrote in a statement. “… Importantly, these reports were collected before the Biden-Harris administration took executive action to secure our border, after Republicans in Congress blocked a bipartisan Senate bill that would have provided the necessary resources and authority to help reduce irregular migration.”
In a statement, officials said illegal border crossings dropped by more than 60 percent after the enforcement action.
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Homelessness among veterans fell to the lowest number on record, with a decrease of nearly 8% – from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024, according to the report. Among unaccompanied veterans, the number fell by nearly 11% – from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024.
HUD said it has helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households with stable houses for rent through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program in 2024 and the Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 veterans — the highest number of veterans housed in a single year since 2019.
Douglas Bue, 65, pushes his wheelchair to his tent next to a homeless encampment outside the West LA Veterans Affairs facilities on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“No American should have to face homelessness, and the Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring every family has access to the affordable, safe and quality housing they deserve,” said HUD Administrator Adrianne Todman. “Although this data is almost a year old and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing, it is critical that we focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness. We know what works and our success in reducing veteran homelessness by 55.2% from 2010 shows that.”
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On Friday, the Biden-Harris administration announced a series of measures to solve homelessness across the country, including expanding the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and awarding nearly $40 million to support veterans through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.
