The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said that according to federal data, more than 770,000 people are classified as homeless – this does not include those who stay with friends or family because they do not have a home.
That increase is on top of the 12 percent increase in 2023 that the ministry attributed to soaring rents and the end of pandemic aid. Based on the numbers, 23 out of every 10,000 people are homeless in the United States, and the proportion of blacks is overrepresented among the homeless.
“No American should have to face homelessness, and the Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring that every family has access to the affordable, safe, and quality housing they deserve,” the department’s statement says somewhat controversially.
One reason is increasing migration
Among the most worrying trends is the almost 40 percent increase in family homelessness – one of the areas most affected by the arrival of migrants to the big cities. According to HUD, family homelessness has more than doubled in migrant-hit communities of Denver, Chicago and New York.
Disasters have also played a role, particularly last year’s catastrophic wildfire in Hawaii, which was the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century.
“Increased homelessness is the tragic but predictable consequence of not investing enough to help people find and maintain safe, affordable housing,” said Renee Willis, interim CEO of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
And Robert Marbut Jr., former executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, called the nearly 33 percent increase in homelessness over the past four years shameful and said the federal government should abandon efforts to prioritize permanent housing.
At the same time, several big cities managed to reduce the number of homeless people. In Dallas, their number decreased by 16 percent between 2022 and 2024. The number of homeless people in Los Angeles has decreased by 5 percent since 2023.
Source: magyarnemzet.hu
