The United States experienced an 18.1% increase in homelessness this year, according to federal officials, who attribute it to a growing number of asylum seekers, a lack of affordable housing, and natural disasters.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates on Friday, which documents the number of people in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings.
According to the report, more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, up 18% from 2023.
More than a dozen communities reported data to the HUD that showed the rise in overall homelessness was a result of a rising number of asylum seekers coming into their communities.
Migration had a notable impact on family homelessness. The report said that 39% more families faced homelessness from 2023 to 2024. In the 13 communities reporting an impact from migration, family homelessness more than doubled.
In the remaining 373 communities, the number of families experiencing homelessness increased less than 8%, the officials noted.
Rents have stabilized a great deal since January 2024, according to a report which adds that HUD has added 435,000 new rental units during the first three quarters of 2024.
The PIT count was held at the end of huge jumps in rents "due to the pandemic and nearly decades of under-building of housing," officials said. "Rents are flat or even down in many cities since January."
According to the HUD, the Maui fire, among others, was responsible for a part of the increase in homelessness. Thousands who were affected by the fire spent the night of the PIT count in disaster emergency shelters.
"This report reflects data collected a year ago and likely does not represent current circumstances, given changed policies and conditions," department officials wrote in a statement. "… Importantly, this reporting was collected prior to the Biden-Harris Administration taking executive action to secure our border, after Congressional Republicans blocked a bipartisan Senate bill that would have provided needed resources and authorities to help reduce irregular migration."
According to the statement, the unlawful crossings at the border plunged by more than 60% after the executive action.
Homelessness among veterans dropped to the lowest number on record, with nearly an 8% decrease – from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024, according to the report. Among unsheltered veterans, the number plunged nearly 11% – from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024.
The HUD said it helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households to stable rental homes through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program in 2024 and the Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 veterans — marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since 2019. "No American should 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 Adrianne Todman, HUD agency head. "While 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% since 2010 shows that."
On Friday, the Biden-Harris Administration rolled out a range of steps to end homelessness around the country. Some included expansion of the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator in conjunction with HHS; almost $40 million has also been awarded through HUD-VASH, to assist veterans through this HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing initiative.
Read also| Jaishankar Meets NSA Sullivan at White House to Discuss Regional and Global Developments
Read also| China Pledges to Crush 'Taiwan Independence' Efforts
