National Shelter Count Confirms Chronic Homelessness Is Increasing

homeless in nyc

The latest national count of people experiencing homelessness revealed that chronic homelessness is increasing across the U.S.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, the number of sheltered individuals experiencing chronic homelessness increased by nearly 20 percent to 44,254 last year. More than half of the total increases were noted in major cities and urban areas, which accounted for more than 27,000 individuals.

Meanwhile, the report also found that the total number of people in the nation’s shelter system dropped by eight percent between 2020 and 2021, the most significant one-year drop recorded over the last two decades. HUD caveated this data by saying the number could be “artificially depressed” as some shelters reduced their capacity because of the pandemic.

“We know that homelessness in America remains an urgent crisis,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement. “As long as people in this nation continue to lack affordable, secure housing, our work to put Housing First is not done.”

The report used results from the 2021 Point in Time (PIT) Count to draw its conclusions. The PIT count is conducted during the last ten days of January by volunteers at local Continuums of Care (COC). These organizations partner with the federal government on homeless resolution projects. It is designed to provide a snapshot of the number of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness each year.

Last year, the pandemic forced several COCs to forego their unsheltered counts. As a result, just 39 percent of all communities conducted full unsheltered counts.

Many of these communities chose to instead rely on data from the Homeless Management Information System, which tracks the number of people who enter COC service programs, and local Medicaid data to gauge the number of people experiencing homelessness in their area.

One disturbing trend identified by the report is that the number of families experiencing unsheltered homelessness increased as the number of sheltered families decreased. The largest changes were also measured in states with home prices growing faster than local wages.  

For example, Delaware saw a 103 percent increase in the number of families experiencing homelessness last year with 429 families losing their homes. Delaware’s average home price has grown by 17.3 percent, up to more than $327,000 over the same period, according to data from Zillow. At the same time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average weekly wage in the state increased by just 1.3 percent last year up to $924, which is more than $300 below the national average weekly wage.

The same trend was also measured in the five states that have seen significant increases in overall sheltered homelessness since 2007. Those states are:

  • New York (+14,886 people)
  • California (+2,515 people)
  • Colorado (+2,413 people)
  • Vermont (+1,582 people)
  • Minnesota (+1,535 people)

The increase in shelter usage can be attributed to the rising cost of living and turbulent rental markets in each state.

New York’s average home price increased by 13.7 percent up to nearly $375,000 last year, according to Zillow. Meanwhile, the state’s average weekly wage increased by just over 10 percent, up to nearly $1,600.

New York is unique in that it has nearly twice as many renters as the national average, according to NYU’s Furman Center. It is also home to areas with some of the fastest-growing average rents. For example, New York County—which includes New York City—has seen its average rent grow by 35 percent over the last year up to more than $3,500. According to data from Redfin, the average monthly rental payment in New York City is more than $1,200 above the average mortgage payment.

The report also outlined some positive points. For example, HUD reported a 10 percent decline in the number of veterans in homeless shelters, which is the largest single-year decline measured over the last seven counts.

On the one hand, this can be linked to the federal government’s efforts to expand voucher bed space during the pandemic as congregate shelters reduced capacity to promote social distancing.

Denis McDonough, Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the decline in veterans staying in shelters suggests that “the measures put in place to protect our most vulnerable Veterans and keep them in stable housing during the pandemic and beyond have had encouraging impacts.”

How You Can Help

The pandemic proved that we need to rethink housing in the U.S. It also showed that aid programs work when agencies and service organizations are provided with sufficient funds and clear guidance on spending aid dollars.

Contact your officials and representatives. Tell them you support keeping many of the pandemic-related aid programs in place for future use. They have proven effective at keeping people housed, which is the first step to ending homelessness once and for all.


Robert Davis

Robert Davis

Robert is a freelance journalist based in Colorado who covers housing, police, and local government.

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