Over 70000 people in the US go homeless, jumped to 12% in 2023

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released on December 15 the 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), Part 1, which provides estimates of homelessness in the U.S. The 2023 report estimates that approximately 653,100 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2023 – a 12% increase (or about 70,650 more people) from 2022.

High housing costs and evictions push more people from homes

Thousands of Americans joined the ranks of the unhoused population in the last year due to the end of pandemic programs such as the eviction increases in rents and the end of extraordinary government measures enacted during the pandemic, including financial aid and eviction bans.

Who is homeless in America?

People who identify as Black, Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, or Native Hawaiian continue to be overrepresented among the homeless population compared to the U.S. population. People who identify as Black, for example, represent 13% of the U.S. population but accounted for 37% of all people experiencing homelessness, and 50% of families experiencing homelessness in 2023 identified as Black. Nearly one-third of all people experiencing homelessness identified as Hispanic or Latino. People identifying as Hispanic or Latino increased by 28% (39,106 people) between 2022 and 2023, making up 55% of the total increase in people experiencing homelessness. People who identify as Asian or Asian American experienced the greatest percentage increase among all people experiencing homelessness, representing a 40% increase (3,313 more people) between 2022 and 2023. American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous populations also experienced a large percentage increase in both sheltered and unsheltered experiences of individual homelessness between 2022 and 2023, both of which rose by 18-19% (or 2,860 people total).

由于租金飙升和新冠疫情援助的减少，美国游民人数今年急剧增加了12%，触及有数据以来的最高水平，美国联邦官员周五表示。

据报告，全美大约有65.3万名游民，这是自2007年开始此类统计以来人数最多的一次。联邦政府每年会根据当地官员在1月份某一晚的统计来计算这个数字，与去年同期相比，游民总人数增加了约7万人。

住房和城市发展部长福吉（Marcia Fudge）在一份声明中说：“这一数据突显出，我们迫切需要经过验证的解决方案和战略，以帮助人们迅速摆脱无家可归，并在一开始就防止无家可归。”

几个月前，联邦政府发布的报告表明，美国的贫困率和食品不安全问题日益增长。在2022年，也就是可获得数据的最近一年，超过12%的人生活在贫困线以下，近13%的人说他们吃不饱饭。

报告显示，在联邦政府追踪的每个群体中，游民人数都在增加，包括个人和有孩子的家庭，各个年龄层的人，以及老兵。自2007年以来，老兵游民人数减少了一半以上，但今年又反弹了7%.

拜登政府官员和学术专家表示，游民人数的急剧增长既反映了租金的大幅上涨，也反映了政府在疫情期间颁布的非常措施的结束，包括财政援助和禁止驱逐l令。

联邦游民问题跨部门委员会负责人奥利弗(Jeff Olivet)说：“最重要的原因是可负担住房短缺和高昂的住房成本。”

一些研究人员则将游民人数增加归咎于移民。他们指出，在纽约、丹佛和芝加哥等受影响最严重的城市，游民人数急剧增加。

宾夕法尼亚大学教授卡尔哈尼(Dennis Culhane)说：“在我看来，问题在于移民危机。即使没有移民危机，我们会看到一些增长，但肯定不会达到这种程度。”他长期担任联邦政府年度人口统计的顾问。

该报告发现，大约55%的游民增长发生在西语裔人群中。