Ten Facts about Being Homeless in USA

Three True Stories

Renee Delisle was one of over 3500 homeless people in Santa Cruz when she found out she was pregnant. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported she was turned away from a shelter because they did not have space for her. While other homeless people slept in cars or under culverts, Renee ended up living in an abandoned elevator shaft until her water broke.

Jerome Murdough, 56, a homeless former Marine, was arrested for trespass in New York because he was found sleeping in a public housing stairwell on a cold night. The New York Times reported that one week later, Jerome died of hypothermia in a jail cell heated to over 100 degrees.

Paula Corb and her two daughters lost their home and have lived in their minivan for four years. They did laundry in a church annex, went to the bathroom at gas stations, and did their studies under street lamps, according to America Tonight.

Fact One. Over half a million people are homeless

On any given night, there are over 600,000 homeless people in the US according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Fact Two. One quarter of homeless people are children

HUD reports that on any given night over 138,000 of the homeless in the US are children under the age of 18. Thousands of these homeless children are unaccompanied according to HUD

Fact Three. Tens of thousands of veterans are homeless

Over 57,000 veterans are homeless each night. Sixty percent of them were in shelters, the rest unsheltered. Nearly 5000 are female.

Fact Four. Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness in women

More than 90% of homeless women are victims of severe physical or sexual abuse and escaping that abuse is a leading cause of their homelessness.

Fact Five. Many people are homeless because they cannot afford rent.
HUD has seen its budget slashed by over 50% in recent decades resulting in the loss of 10,000 units of subsidized low income housing each and every year.

Fact Six. There are fewer places for poor people to rent than before:
The US needs at least 7 million more affordable apartments for low income families

Fact Seven. In the last few years millions have lost their homes:

Fact Eight. The Government does not help as much as you think

Fact Nine. One in five homeless people suffer from untreated severe mental illness

While about 6% of the general population suffers from severe mental illness, 20 to 25% of the homeless suffer from severe mental illness according to government studies. Half of this population self-medicate and are at further risk of addiction and poor physical health

Fact Ten. Cities are increasingly making homelessness a crime

Ten facts about being homeless in USA

There is a lot about this list that bothers me but #10 is what bothers me the most. Leave it to the U.S to make it illegal to be homeless. It's so bad that the UN singled out the U.S. in a report on human rights for our nation’s criminalization of the homeless. They said the criminalization of homelessness in the U.S. “raises concerns of discrimination and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” Of course nothing was done about it but the fact remains clear that the U.S doesn't give two hoots about it's citizens.

Four municipalities (Raleigh, N.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Daytona Beach, Fla.) have recently gone as far as to fine, remove or threaten to throw in jail private groups that work to serve food to the needy instead of letting government-run services do the job.

Columbia, South Carolina, passed a measure that essentially would have empowered police to ship all homeless people out of town. Detroit PD officers have been accused of illegally taking the homeless and driving them out of the city.

In 33 U.S cities, feeding the homeless has been criminalized

I know in Canada, when the police get sick and tired of a problematic homeless person, they just buy them a one way Greyhound ticket out of the province. That is what happened with the guy who beheaded a man on the Greyhound bus a couple years back. They also did that for the Vancouver Olympics, packed up a bunch of homeless people and hookers, sent them all to the Okanagan. ((Well maybe not all but a good chunk of them))

The inhumanity displayed by our supposedly by the people for the people governments....is no better than callous at best.
The plight of the "homeless"(read socially outcast or outclassed.....) is a travesty we should all feel ashamed for.....
The time for direct action...(whatever that might be) is now......
No point waiting for Jesus....(hes 2000 yrs late) and the umpteenth Imam hasn't crawled out of the well yet either....
No point hoping for the big awakening .....
Actions of a meaningful nature speak with the eloquence that words do not begin to express......

a reply to: stirling
I was homeless for a couple months in the fall when I was 16 because my alcoholic mother didn't like that my bra straps were showing.

It got cold at night so I mostly stayed with a druggie/boozer cause he had a room in a halfway house. I went from weighting 185lbs-135lbs in three months and almost died from it.

No one should have to go through that, especially a child!

Yup...we have our own citizens in duress yet we find a way to give illegal invaders everything THEY need.

Not to mention we manage to give the Zionist state of israel everything THEY need also.

www.ifamericansknew.org...

The world seems much more filled with misery than happiness these days....
Even being homeless wasn't so ugly back when I took to the road.....
Those years long past by now...I feel for the younger generation because I know how their lives have been degraded by the system which demands obedience, compliance, and most of their wealth. just for mere survival without hope for better later.....
The ability to be truly free.....bled from their conscious memory.....
Homelessness, is like unto a prison without walls.......

This planet is #ed.

We hoard and abtuse all the worlds resources yet everyone in the world is broke homeless and hungry I mean can we get any stupider?

a reply to: Sabiduria

its a sick world...not only do we kill nature we kill ourselves....this system of greed is clearly not working for the masses....a new system of life is needed...( not a system of rule).....there are so many of us on this little planet now we need to learn how to work together for a common goal....i am not holding my breath though as those in power seem hell bent on retaining it and keeping their slaves

Economists are right about one thing. Incentives do drive humanity. When every incentive in America is to make profit at any cost, even death and suffering of others or destruction of the environment no one should be surprised that people do this stuff.

The more shocking thing is how powerful the conditioning is. Everyone is amazed when they hear about something awful on the news but when you point out the real causes people shoot you down on instinct. People think poverty is some strange phenomenon when it's very clearly intentional.

a reply to: tavi45

Economists are right about one thing. Incentives do drive humanity. When every incentive in America is to make profit at any cost, even death and suffering of others or destruction of the environment no one should be surprised that people do this stuff. The more shocking thing is how powerful the conditioning is. Everyone is amazed when they hear about something awful on the news but when you point out the real causes people shoot you down on instinct. People think poverty is some strange phenomenon when it's very clearly intentional.

nicely said....you 100% on the money...worth repeating

Becoming or being homeless getting classified as a crime is a crime against freedom.

a reply to: Sabiduria

Some facts that the site you linked failed to mention -- DISCLAIMER: This isn't to say there is not a problem, but just pointing out the negative, while not addressing the positive ends up getting the conversation nowhere in my opinion.

According to HUD in their report (the report cited in the link)

The number of homeless individuals declined
by nearly 2 percent (or 6,534) since 2012, and
by 8 percent (or 35,532) since 2007.

That is good. Could be better but I would like to know their methodology on this. Does this account for private citizen's and/or charities that also engage in anti-homelessness outreach?

Overall, looking at the report, across the board the Federal Government has made inroads (while putting up road-blocks or fighting road-blocks put in place by cities; such as your link later in your post OP) to decreasing the number of people who are homeless. That all said, you can lead a horse to the water -- you know the rest.

There is also some twisting of the facts when it relates to the 6th Fact. According to the linked piece (goes to a study within), the paper states that "...homelessness has not been reduced [since 2010]...", yet HUD's report clearly indicates a reduction of homelessness in their 2013 report to Congress. (ETA: If only 600,000 are homeless, why does HUD need funding for 7+ million homes? That wasn't quite explained except through stretching of the facts in my opinion).

In 2010, there were a total estimate of 649,917 persons that were homeless. In 2013, that estimate was at 610,042. While not huge inroads to the problem (or even addressing the issues that are leading to homelessness), it clearly shows a decline. Why does National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the Human Rights Network say otherwise? (I ask, because this study doesn't offer a foot-note to where they are deriving that statement from.

That same study states "Housing affordability remains at crisis levels. In no U.S. jurisdiction can a person working full time at the federal minimum wage afford a one-bedroom apartment."

They might be playing word games here. "U.S. jurisdiction" is technically only territories and District of Columbia. All others are held by the States, counties, cities and the People respectively. I digress though, and can examine just how false this notion is as presented in a vague manner as such.

Federal minimum wage (meaning, you are working a Federal job that is below a State's minimum wage (and I believe there are very few), is 7.25/hour. "Full time" work (not defined by the paper) is generally defined by the employer, but let us assume 30-40 hours/week. That gives us a weekly gross income of 217.50 - 290. Monthly gross income amounts to 870 - 1160.

The claim again is that "...In no U.S. jurisdiction can a person working full time at the federal minimum wage afford a one-bedroom apartment." According to the average median rental rates of a one-bedroom (depending on locality) can be as low as 500/month.

I know that doesn't leave a lot of expendable income in the end, but the possibility is there and this study has taken the issue to the extreme to highlight their stance and view on the situation.

There is a lot more to discuss than just throwing numbers at it. The face that the Government burdens citizens heavily with regulations (along with those wishing to rent out, price floors, Section Eight Housing, etc, etc) is a problem that is multiplied by the Government that is trying to throw more money at it without attempting to tackle the root cause -- and that is from my point of view, is Government intervention; albeit, with good intentions.

a reply to: ownbestenemy

I wonder how much of that decline is changes in the statistical methodology. Maybe some of it is that homeless people died. Do we have any statistics on homeless deaths?

Everything I saw when I searched was very local, very outdated, or obit compared mortality among homeless to other groups.

a reply to: tavi45

I agree with that. That is why blogs or even news reports are hard to decipher. Though I believe the HUD report, that is found in the link provided by the OP, does have some stats on deaths...I think.

Just to let you know:
The other side (people that do have a decent income and affordable housing) see this as just us being negative. And they are demanding us to be positive about it. It's the reason they don't like us. They don't want to see the truth, they just want us to stop nagging.
---not me!--- because I don't have a decent income and I'm not greedy (I'm on welfare) ... That's why I'm just negative about things when I call them the way I see things.
Me thinks TPTB are deviding us ... to concour ofcourse.

a reply to: ownbestenemy
When you mention monthly minimum wage range you give gross figures, are there no tax/deductions at this income level n the US. Even if there aren't you cant possibly suggest the remainder is sufficient for food, clothes, utilities, possibly transport to work and all the other costs that make up daily living?

originally posted by: ScepticScot
a reply to: ownbestenemy
When you mention monthly minimum wage range you give gross figures, are there no tax/deductions at this income level n the US. Even if there aren't you cant possibly suggest the remainder is sufficient for food, clothes, utilities, possibly transport to work and all the other costs that make up daily living?

I did mention that it left little for expendable income, but the tax bracket for that level of income essentially becomes a negative tax rate for most. While it may sound un-politically correct, if all one is capable of exchanging their services is for 7.25/hour due to lack of skill/ambition/or other factors, I would say your life shouldn't really have much more than a few pleasures. Personally, I have been there and after a few bad roads I ventured on and struggled, but maintained. Through the help of private charities (mainly a church) and one of the few Governmental programs I agree with (WIC), we punched through and I made myself more marketable in a career that I absolutely love.

Generally though, I would assume about a 10-13% reduction for taxes at that level of income (State and Federal), though that can be minimized through with holdings on a W-4 greater than what you need. I only say this because of the fact that a person with such income is going to be able to claim so much in ways of deductions, that it will offset any taxes they may need to owe. That is a general statement though.

a reply to: Daalder

I think that is a broad brush you paint with. I have friends (that I met here) and IRL, that are homeless. I see their plight; some chosen, some by misfortune, others by illness (mental mostly). It is a problem, but why not highlight the good? Why be pessimistic and only throw up your hands in defeat or claim those that want to see the positive are just wanting it to be swept under the rug?

Have you ever thought that the very Government that is proclaiming it will be your savior is the creator of the many roadblocks you face?

a reply to: ownbestenemy
Expendable income is money after bills and cost of living. I would doubt that that none would even cover the minimum expenditure let alone leave any expendable Income.
Do you really think that the majority of people on minimum wage are there because of lack of effort rather than circumstances?

a reply to: ScepticScot

Never stated that was the majority of reason; though we can expand on this notion you presented. It is a slight detraction from the OP, but I did highlight it in my first response. There are many factors that lead to living in poverty (by U.S. standards -- which is, for a single person, below 11,670.00 annually) and among them is lack of skill and/or ambition. Other factors could be environment, illness (mental/physical), education (skill covers that partially), the thought that it is deserved, etc, etc.

I know a few people that just said screw the system and dropped out of any work (besides what they can find) to live their life upon the concept of a free market, ie., marketable skills in exchange for monetary, services, and/or other goods such as housing.

I obviously know what expendable income is, I stated that above.

a reply to: ownbestenemy
Re-read my post and realised it sounded slightly confrontational which was not my intention so sorry about that.
It is the idea that we should not provide support for homelessness or those on low income because there are those that take advantage of the system. The majority don't and we shouldn't design systems that punish or neglect them so to prevent the small amount who are scamming or just lazy. Appreciate this is not exactly what you are saying and you do support some government schemes but the sink or swim attitude is quite common among some on ATS.