|
Q. Where can I find the latest national data on the number of homeless people?
A. On July 9, 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued the 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR). In the Executive Summary, HUD writes, “The 2008 AHAR breaks new ground by being the first report to provide year-to-year trend information on
homelessness in the United States. The report provides the latest counts of homelessness nationwide—including counts of individuals, persons in families, and special population groups such as veterans and chronically homeless people. The report also covers the types of locations where people use emergency shelter and transitional housing; where people were just before they entered a residential program; how much time they spend in shelters over the course of a year; and the size and use of the U.S inventory of residential programs for homeless people.“
The AHAR examines two sets of data. First, single night local community Point- in-Time (PIT) counts of persons living on the streets, and in shelters/transitional housing. On a single night in January 2008, Point-in-Time counts revealed 664,414 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons nationwide, of whom 42% were living “on the street” with the remainder living in shelters or transitional housing. Second, year long data collected by communities and reported through the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). From HMIS data contributed by 222 communities, HUD estimates that nationally approximately 1.6 million persons experienced homelessness and found shelter between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008.
Read HUD’s press release on the 2008 AHAR which summarizes other key findings from the report and also announces a new initiative, the Homeless Pulse Project, through which HUD is beginning to measure homelessness on a quarterly basis.
Read the 2008 AHAR Report.
|
