2022 numbers reach record levels as gains against homelessness made before the pandemic have reversed.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development released a report that shows that homelessness in the U.S. has increased 12 percent. Officials said that rising rents and a decline in assistance that was available during the COVID-19 pandemic have combined to put housing out of reach for many. The figures, compiled for 2022, show approximately 582,000 Americans experienced homelessness last year. That number is up from 2020 and amounts to about 18 per 10,000 people.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge stated, “This data underscores the urgent need for support for proven solutions and strategies that help people quickly exit homelessness and that prevent homelessness in the first place.”
Steady gains against homelessness had been made in the years prior to the pandemic. Since then, Congress approved emergency rental assistance, stimulus payments, aid to states and local governments, and, during the pandemic, a temporary eviction moratorium.
Executive Director Jeff Olivet of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, a federal agency, said the extra assistance “held off the rise in homelessness that we are now seeing,”
Director Olivet said, “While numerous factors drive homelessness, the most significant causes are the shortage of affordable homes and the high cost of housing that have left many Americans living paycheck to paycheck and one crisis away from homelessness.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Fudge as she oversees HUD and the federal housing programs.
- For HUD department officials as they seek to prevent homelessness.
- For Americans who are housing insecure and experiencing financial hardship.
Sources: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Newsmax
