Homelessness in the United States

[12][13][14] In the 21st century, the Great Recession of the late 2000s and the resulting economic stagnation and downturn have been major driving factors and contributors to rising homelessness rates.

[18] Health complications are significant concern for homeless people, as lack of residence inhibits hygiene and access to healthy food,[19][20] and exposes individuals to both cold and heat stress, violence, and traffic deaths.

[25] In 1547, a bill was passed that subjected vagrants to some of the more extreme provisions of the criminal law, namely two years' servitude and branding with a "V" as the penalty for the first offense and death for the second.

[11] Jacob Riis wrote about, documented, and photographed the poor and destitute, although not specifically homeless people, in New York City tenements in the late 19th century.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt took over the presidency from Herbert Hoover, he passed the New Deal, which greatly expanded social welfare, including providing funds to build public housing.

According to Don Mitchell, this was in part due to the neoliberal reforms of the Reagan presidency, as housing and social service cuts increased and also the economy suffered a recession early in the decade.

[43] The history of the United States in the 1980s illustrates that this was a time when there was economic distress, and high unemployment at points, and was the period when chronic homelessness became a societal problem.

[65] The homeless population in the United States rose by more than 18 percent in a single year in 2024, government officials said, driven by high housing costs, natural disasters and increased migration to big cities.

In 2016, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and seven of the 15 City Council members announced they would declare a state of emergency and try to find $100 million "to cure what has become a municipal curse.

[104] According to US government sources, homelessness has increased drastically, particularly in the US West, as real estate shortages drove up rents even higher, when people from already lower income levels were laid off from their jobs and evicted from existing housing.

[117] In San Diego, according to a 2023 report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, Blackstone Inc. has contributed to the problem through aggressive evictions and rent increases of some 43-64% on vacant properties in two years.

[141] The topic of homeless families first emerged in the United States during the 1980s, when social welfare programs were being cut and high rates of income inequality, child poverty, and the lack of affordable housing were becoming an issue.

[140] A 2007 study discovered that the three biggest risk factors that contributed to family homelessness in the United States are: ethnicity, lack of resources (specifically funds), and young children/pregnancy.

According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2017, the number of people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered locations increased for a second straight year by 9% between 2016 and 2017.

Multiple studies have demonstrated success in reducing the homeless population as well as its harmful financial and societal effects by providing these individuals with a combination of housing without preconditions and supportive care.

The building's owner issued a statement that the goal was to protect the "safety of their employees, tenants, and guests in a location that has been consistently plagued by public drug use and menacing behavior.

Homeless people have disproportionately high rates of poly substance use, mental illness, physical health problems and legal issues/barriers in attaining employment.

[203] In 2023, Judge Milan Smith Jr., an American jurist claimed that homelessness is "presently the defining public health and safety crisis in the western United States.

[207] As high-risk and socially disadvantaged persons, homeless patients tend to require a lot of acute care, of short term but active treatment, with poor results.

Children's homelessness health risks include malnutrition from lack of access to food with nutritional content, behavioral problems associated with coping, social insecurity from growing up in an unstable environment, and mental illnesses such as PTSD and trauma.

[214] There are many things that contribute to why homeless women are at a higher rate of developing a mental illness compared to the general population, but there has been a reoccurring theme among studies focused on this issue.

[217] Although many medical, psychiatric, and counseling services exist to address these needs, it is commonly believed that without the support of reliable and stable housing, such treatments remain ineffective.

[225] In 2018, the number of U.S. citizens residing in their vehicles because they cannot find affordable housing has "exploded", particularly in cities with steep increases in the cost of living such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Francisco.

[226][227] Bloomberg reported in November 2018 that the wealthiest cities in the U.S., in particular those in the Western states, are experiencing a homelessness crisis driven largely by stagnant wages and "skyrocketing rents".

People with housing are less likely to need health services, as a stable home provides protection from the elements, prevention from sicknesses, wounds and infections, and a generally safer environment than the streets.

[251][252][253] The bi-partisan, congressionally mandated, Millennial Housing Commission included ending chronic homelessness in 10 years, among its principal recommendations in its Report to Congress in 2002.

In 2003–04, during the 108th United States Congress meeting, the proposed Bringing America Home Act was intended to provide comprehensive treatment for many homeless mental and substance use disorder patients - it has not been passed or funded.

[261] After eighteen months, the library staff felt they still were not doing enough and "analyzed program participation trends supplemented by observation and anecdotes" in order to better understand the information needs of homeless people.

Additional changes implemented included temporary computer passes and a generous in-house reading space to counteract the policies in place that may prevent a homeless person from obtaining a library card.

[272] A 2007 survey conducted by Public Agenda, a non-profit organization that helps leaders and their citizens navigate through complex social issues, found that 67 percent of New Yorkers agreed that most homeless people were without shelter because of "circumstances beyond their control", including high housing costs and lack of good and steady employment.