38 million Americans lived in poverty before Covid and 568,000 were homeless. 2020 data is expected to be much worse. Highest per capita homelessness are Washington, DC, New York State, Hawaii, California, and Oregon

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Homeless map by state, point in time data from Jan. 2019: 

Worst: 

#1, Washington, DC, 93 per 10,000; 

#2, New York State, 47 per 10,000;  

#3, Hawaii, 45 per 10,000;  

#4, tie, California and Oregon, each 38 per 10,000

Link to above interactive map

"State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition [Data through Jan. 2019]," endhomelessness.org

"As the Alliance publishes this updated version of the State of Homelessness, COVID-19 is creating a health and economic crisis in America and throughout the world.  It is too soon to determine its ultimate impacts.  Thus, this year’s report represents a baseline—the state of homelessness before the crisis began.  It also reflects some early considerations and predictions about the influence of the pandemic on this vulnerable population."

"Sources and Methodology"

Data on homelessness are based on annual point-in-time (PIT) counts conducted by Continuums of Care (CoCs) to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. The latest counts are from January 2019. Point-in-time data from 2007 to 2019 are available on HUD Exchange.

Rates of homelessness are a comparison of point-in-time counts to state, county, and city population data from the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program, accessed via American FactFinder (table PEPANNRES: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population, 2018 version). Most CoC boundaries align with one or multiple counties, and about a dozen align with cities that are entirely within one county. However, four CoCs align with city boundaries spanning multiple counties (Atlanta, GA; Amarillo, TX; Kansas City, MO; and Oklahoma City, OK). For these, the population was estimated based on prior year trends.

Data on homeless assistance, or bed capacity of homeless services programs on a given night, are reported annually by CoCs along with point-in-time counts. These data are compiled in the Housing Inventory Count (HIC), which is also available on HUD Exchange for 2007 through 2019.

Data on at risk populations are from analyses by the National Alliance to End Homelessness of the Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates, accessed via American FactFinder. Poor renter households with a severe housing cost burden are households whose total income falls under the applicable poverty threshold and who are paying 50 percent or more of total household income to housing rent. For people living doubled up, poverty is based on the composition and income of the entire household as compared to the poverty thresholds. A person is considered living doubled up based on his or her relationship to the head of household and includes: an adult child (18 years old or older) who is not in school, is married, and/or has children; a sibling; a parent or parent-in-law; an adult grandchild who is not in school; a grandchild who is a member of a subfamily; a son- or daughter-in-law; another relative; or any non-relative."

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Added:

12/21/2019, CNN, "The homeless population in the US increased 2.7% this year [2019] largely because of a surge in unsheltered and chronically homeless individuals in California, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said in a news release Friday. The study found that 567,715 people across the nation experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, an increase of 14,885 people compared with 2018."

"Populations at Risk of Homelessness

Many Americans live in poverty, amounting to 38.1 million people [per 2018 US Census] or 11.8 percent of the U.S. population. They struggle to afford necessities such as housing."...

 

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