US Homelessness Hits Record High

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Facts

  • According to a report released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of Americans experiencing homelessness has risen by 12% since last year to the highest level on record.1
  • Approximately 653K people were homeless in January 2023, reflecting an increase of about 71K individuals in comparison to January 2022's statistics.2
  • Within the overall rise, homelessness among families with children had increased by 15.5%, among individuals by nearly 11%, and among veterans by 7.4%.3
  • Furthermore, some states witnessed the biggest increase in their homeless populations on record, including New York (39.1%), Colorado (38.9%), Massachusetts (23.4%), Florida (18.5%), and California (5.8%).4
  • While the increase spans across all demographics, the number of homeless Asian and Asian Americans jumped 40%, marking the group's largest percentage increase.5
  • The rise in homelessness has primarily been attributed to surging rents, lack of affordable homes, and the end of COVID-era relief programs.6

Sources: 1CNN, 2Associated Press, 3National Review, 4CBS, 5The Hill, and 6Wall Street Journal.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The Washington Post. The US homelessness crisis is getting worse post-COVID, which has delivered a financial double-whammy. However, the Biden administration is committed to helping vulnerable Americans weather the economic turmoil of the pandemic. The country is on course to prevent and end homelessness, as the government's long-term plan focuses on solutions to help prevent homelessness in the first place, and to aid unhoused individuals to quickly put life on the streets behind them.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Newsweek. This is a manufactured problem. The rise in homelessness also stems from the growing number of migrants entering the expensive and ineffective homeless services system, which is ill-prepared to handle any unchecked influxes. It's time to call out the policies of Pres. Biden, which focus on housing illegal migrants rather than homeless impoverished Americans. The anti-American betrayal must end.
  • Nerd narrative, as provided by Metaculus. There's a 40% chance that the total number of people staying in NYC homeless shelters will exceed 100K for any day of 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.