California’s rate of homelessness increased more than the total national increase of every other state combined.
Meanwhile, there were continued declines nationwide among veterans and families with children, according to a new Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report.
While the rest of the country experienced a combined decrease in homelessness, significant increases in unsheltered and chronic homelessness on the West Coast – particularly California and Oregon – caused an overall increase in homelessness of 2.7 percent, according to HUD’s 2019 Annual Homelessness Report to Congress.
“As we look across our nation, we see great progress, but we’re also seeing a continued increase in street homelessness along our West Coast where the cost of housing is extremely high,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a news release. “In fact, homelessness in California is at a crisis level and needs to be addressed by local and state leaders with crisis-like urgency. Addressing these challenges will require a broader, community-wide response that engages every level of government to compassionately house our fellow citizens who call the streets their home.”
The study found that 567,715 persons experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, an increase of 2.7 percent increase from 2018, but a nearly 11 percent decline since 2010.
HUD found significant local variation reported from different parts of the country. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia reported declines in homelessness between 2018 and 2019, while 21 states reported increases in the number of persons experiencing homelessness.
HUD's national estimate is based upon data reported by 3,000 cities and counties across the nation.
Every year on a single night in January, planning agencies called Continuums of Care (COC), along with tens of thousands of volunteers, seek to identify the number of individuals and families living in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, and in unsheltered settings.
Key findings from COCs included:
- There were 37,085 veterans reported as homeless, a decline of 2.1 percent from 2018 and 50 percent since 2010.
- About 53,692 families with children experienced homelessness last January, down nearly 5 percent from 2018 and more than 32 percent since 2010.
- The estimated number of persons experiencing long-term, chronic homelessness increased 8.5 percent between 2018 and 2019. This increase was concentrated on the West Coast, with the largest increases in California.
- The number of unaccompanied homeless youth and children in 2019 is estimated to be 35,038, a 3.6 percent decline since 2018.