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poverty unemployment lack of affordable housing poor physical or mental health drug and alcohol abuse gambling family and relationship breakdown domestic violence physical and/or sexual abuse. All these factors can cause a person to become homeless. They can also be one of the reasons why a person remains homeless.

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Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analyses.

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Destination: Home is committed to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring. The 2015-2020 Community Plan to End Homelessness contains a clear call to action, "Prevent homelessness before it happens". Through the combined resources of Packard Foundation, Sunlight Giving, Google.org, City of San Jose, City of Santa Clara, City of Morgan Hill, and County of Santa Clara, $4.2 Million has been raised to rethink the way family homelessness is prevented in our community. Destination: Home is facilitating a 27-month pilot program with the goal of implementing a countywide homelessness prevention system and preventing all instances of family homelessness.

Sacred Heart Community Services, an experienced advocacy and emergency support organization for thousands of families, is coordinating these homelessness prevention efforts in partnership with community-based organizations across Santa Clara County.

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Homelessness Prevention " Destination: Home

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Destination: Home is committed to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring. The 2015-2020 Community Plan to End Homelessness contains a clear call to action, "Prevent homelessness before it happens".

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For homeless people, shelter from the elements can be a matter of life and death. The right to shelter is a vital legal protection for homeless individuals, families and children. Without this crucial safeguard, vulnerable homeless people would be at severe risk of death or injury on the streets and in other public spaces.

More than three decades ago, Coalition for the Homeless won a landmark legal victory that established the right to shelter for homeless people in New York City.

When modern homelessness first emerged in the late 1970s, thousands of homeless New Yorkers were forced to fend for themselves on the streets, in parks, in the subway system and in other public spaces. At that time, hundreds of unsheltered homeless people died each year, many from hypothermia and other cold-related injuries.

In 1979, the founders of Coalition for the Homeless brought a class-action lawsuit, Callahan v. Carey, against the City and State of New York. The case, which was brought on behalf of homeless men, argued that a constitutional right to shelter existed in New York.

The lawsuit pointed in particular to Article XVII of the New York State Constitution, which declares that "the aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state and by such of its subdivisions...." Article XVII was adopted by New York voters in 1938, in the midst of the Great Depression, and has provided a vital protection to impoverished New Yorkers ever since.

In August 1981, after nearly two years of intensive negotiations, Callahan v. Carey was settled as a consent decree, enshrining New York City's legal right to shelter for homeless men. Two years later, the Coalition brought another lawsuit, Eldredge v. Koch, which extended the right to shelter to homeless women. And that same year, the Legal Aid Society brought a right-to-shelter lawsuit, McCain v. Koch, on behalf of homeless families with children.

The right to shelter protects thousands of homeless New Yorkers every day. The fundamental legal protections won by Callahan v. Carey and subsequent cases ensure that individuals and families in need have access to shelter from the elements as they regain stability in their lives and seek permanent housing.

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Proven Solutions - Coalition For The Homeless

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For homeless people, shelter from the elements can be a matter of life and death. The right to shelter is a vital legal protection for homeless individuals, families and children. Without this crucial safeguard, vulnerable homeless people would be at severe risk of death or injury on the streets and in other public spaces.

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The world of the homeless may seem very far from yours, but in some ways it is quite near. For any of us, the loss of a job, the illness or death of a spouse or a child, or a severe physical disability could be the route to total despair. Struck by personal tragedies, the people in shelters across America have lost their homes and been deserted by family and friends. What can you do to help them? Sometimes the smallest actions can go a long way.

1. Understand who the homeless are - Help dispel the stereotypes about the homeless. Learn about the different reasons for homelessness, and remember, every situation is unique. One of the first steps in helping people is to see them as individuals and to find out what they need. Notice them; talk to them. Most are starved for attention.

2. Educate yourself about the homeless - Learn about the long-term solutions for ending homelessness.

3. Respect the homeless as individuals - Give the homeless people the same courtesy and respect you would accord your friends, your family, your employer. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you needed assistance.

4. Respond with kindness - We can make quite a difference in the lives of the homeless when we respond to them, rather than ignore or dismiss them. Try a kind word and a smile.

5. Develop lists of shelters - Carry a card that lists local shelters so you can hand them out to the homeless. You can find shelters in your phone book.

6. Buy Street Sheet - This biweekly newspaper is sold in almost every major American city and is intended to help the homeless help themselves. For every paper sold, the homeless earn five cents deposited in a special savings account earmarked for rent.

7. Bring food - It's as simple as taking a few extra sandwiches when you go out. When you pass someone who asks for change, offer him or her something to eat. If you take a lunch, pack a little extra. When you eat at a restaurant, order something to take with you when you leave.

8. Give money - One of the most direct ways to aid the homeless is to give money. Donations to nonprofit organizations that serve the homeless go a long way.

9. Give recyclables - In localities where there is a "bottle law," collecting recyclable cans and bottles is often the only "job" available to the homeless. But it is an honest job that requires initiative. You can help by saving your recyclable bottles, cans, and newspapers and giving them to the homeless instead of taking them to a recycling center or leaving them out for collection. If you live in a larger city, you may wish to leave your recyclables outside for the homeless to pick up - or give a bagful of cans to a homeless person in your neighborhood.

10. Donate clothing - Next time you do your spring or fall cleaning, keep an eye out for those clothes that you no longer wear. If these items are in good shape, gather them together and donate them to organizations that provide housing for the homeless.

11. Donate a bag of groceries - Load up a bag full of nonperishable groceries, and donate it to a food drive in your area. If your community doesn't have a food drive, organize one. Contact your local soup kitchens, shelters, and homeless societies and ask what kind of food donations they would like.

12. Donate toys - Children living in shelters have few possessions -if any- including toys. Homeless parents have more urgent demands on what little money they have, such as food and clothing. So often these children have nothing to play with and little to occupy their time. You can donate toys, books, and games to family shelters to distribute to homeless children. For Christmas or Chanukah, ask your friends and co-workers to buy and wrap gifts for homeless children.

13. Volunteer at a shelter - Shelters thrive on the work of volunteers, from those who sign people in, to those who serve meals, to others who counsel the homeless on where to get social services. For the homeless, a shelter can be as little as a place to sleep out of the rain or as much as a step forward to self-sufficiency.

14. Volunteer at a soup kitchen - Soup kitchens provide one of the basics of life, nourishing meals for the homeless and other disadvantaged members of the community. Volunteers generally do much of the work, including picking up donations of food, preparing meals, serving it, and cleaning up afterward. To volunteer your services, contact you local soup kitchen, mobile food program, shelter, or religious center.

15. Volunteer your professional services - No matter what you do for a living, you can help the homeless with your on-the-job talents and skills. Those with clerical skills can train those with little skills. Doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, and dentists can treat the homeless in clinics. Lawyers can help with legal concerns. The homeless' needs are bountiful - your time and talent won't be wasted.

16. Volunteer your hobbies - Every one of us has something we can give the homeless. Wherever our interests may lie - cooking, repairing, gardening, and photography - we can use them for the homeless. Through our hobbies, we can teach them useful skills, introduce them to new avocations and perhaps point them in a new direction.

17. Volunteer for follow-up programs - Some homeless people, particularly those who have been on the street for a while, may need help with fundamental tasks such as paying bills, balancing a household budget, or cleaning. Follow-up programs to give the formerly homeless further advice, counseling, and other services need volunteers.

18. Tutor homeless children - A tutor can make all the difference. Just having adult attention can spur children to do their best. Many programs exist in shelters, transitional housing programs, and schools that require interested volunteers. Or begin you own tutor volunteer corps at your local shelter. It takes nothing more than a little time.

19. Take homeless children on trips - Frequently, the only environment a homeless child knows is that of the street, shelters, or other transitory housing. Outside of school - if they attend - these children have little exposure to many of the simple pleasures that most kids have. Volunteer at your local family shelter to take children skating or to an aquarium on the weekend.

20. Volunteer at battered women's shelter - Most battered women are involved in relationships with abusive husbands or other family members. Lacking resources and afraid of being found by their abusers, many may have no recourse other than a shelter or life on the streets once they leave home. Volunteers handle shelter hotlines, pick up abused women and their children when they call, keep house, and offer counseling. Call your local shelter for battered women to see how you can help.

21. Teach about the homeless - If you do volunteer work with the homeless, you can become an enthusiast and extend your enthusiasm to others. You can infect others with your own sense of devotion by writing letters to the editor of your local paper and by pressing housing issues at election time.

22. Publish shelter information - Despite all of our efforts to spread the word about shelters, it is surprising how many people are unaware of their own local shelters. Contact your local newspapers, church or synagogue bulletins, or civic group's newsletters about the possibility of running a weekly or monthly listing of area services available to the homeless. This could include each organization's particular needs for volunteers, food, and other donations.

23. Educate your children about the homeless - Help your children to see the homeless as people. If you do volunteer work, take your sons and daughters along so they can meet with homeless people and see what can be done to help them. Volunteer as a family in a soup kitchen or shelter. Suggest that they sort through the toys, books, and clothes they no longer use and donate them to organizations that assist the poor.

24. Sign up your company/school - Ask your company or school to host fund-raising events, such as raffles or craft sales and donate the proceeds to nonprofit organizations that aid the homeless. You can also ask your company or school to match whatever funds you and your co-workers or friends can raise to help the homeless.

25. Recruit local business - One of the easiest ways to involve local businesses is to organize food and/or clothing drives. Contact local organizations to find out what is needed, approach local grocery or clothing shops about setting up containers on their premises in which people can drop off donations, ask local businesses to donate goods to the drive, and publicize the drive by placing announcements in local papers and on community bulletin boards and by posting signs and posters around your neighborhood.

26. Create lists of needed donations - Call all the organizations in your community that aid the homeless and ask them what supplies they need on a regular basis. Make a list for each organization, along with its address, telephone number, and the name of a contact person. Then mail these lists to community organizations that may wish to help with donations - every place from religious centers to children's organizations such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

27. Play with children in a shelter - Many children in shelters are cut off from others their own age. Shuffled from place to place, sometimes these kids don't attend school on a regular basis, and have no contact with other kids. Bring a little joy to their lives by taking your children to a local shelter to play. Plan activities such as coloring, playing with dolls, or building model cars (take along whatever toys you'll need). Your own children will benefit too.

28. Employ the homeless - Help Wanted - General Office Work. Welfare recipient, parolee, ex-addict OK. Good salary, benefits. Will train. That's the way Wildcat Service Corporations Supported Work Program invites the "unemployable" to learn to work and the program works! More than half the people who sign on find permanent, well-paying jobs, often in maintenance, construction, clerical, or security work.

29. Help the homeless apply for aid - Governmental aid is available for homeless people, but many may not know where to find it or how to apply. Since they don't have a mailing address, governmental agencies may not be able to reach them. You can help by directing the homeless to intermediaries, such as homeless organizations, that let them know what aid is available and help them to apply for it. If you want to be an advocate or intermediary for the homeless yourself, you can contact these organizations as well.

30. Stand up for the civil rights of the homeless - In recent elections, for example, volunteers at shelters and elsewhere helped homeless people register to vote . . . even though they had "no fixed address" at the moment. Some officials would not permit citizens without a permanent address to vote.

31. Join Habitat for Humanity - This Christian housing ministry builds houses for families in danger of becoming homeless. Volunteers from the community and Habitat homeowners erect the houses. Funding is through donations from churches, corporations, foundations, and individuals.

32. Form a transitional housing program - One of the most potent homeless-prevention services a community can offer residents who are in danger of eviction is a transitional housing program. These programs help people hang on to their current residences or assist them in finding more affordable ones. The methods include steering people to appropriate social service and community agencies, helping them move out of shelters, and providing funds for rent, mortgage payments, and utilities. For information, contact the Homelessness Information Exchange at (202) 462-7551.

33. Write to corporations - Some of the largest corporations in America have joined the battle for low-income housing. Through the use of the tax credit or by outright grants, they are participating with federal and state government, not-for-profit and community-based groups to build desperately needed housing in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and dozens of other cities. Contact various organizations and ask them what they are doing.

34. Contact your government representatives - Our legislators rarely receive more than three visits or ten letters about any subject. When the numbers exceed that amount, they sit up and take note. Personal visits are the most potent. Letters are next; telephone calls are third best. Housing issues don't come up that often, so your public officials will listen.

35. Push for state homelessness prevention programs - While states routinely supply aid for the poor and homeless, many do not have programs provide funds and other services to those who will lose their homes in the immediate future unless something is done. Homelessness comes at great financial and human cost to the families who are evicted or foreclosed.

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The world of the homeless may seem very far from yours, but in some ways it is quite near. For any of us, the loss of a job, the illness or death of a spouse or a child, or a severe physical disabi...

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I first met Pam as we were working together on a humanitarian project compiling thousands of kits for the homeless . I soon learned that compassionate acts of service are a significant part of Pam's life. Here's a few of her amazing stories and perspective on how we can help.
I have worked with the homeless in Denver for four years now. One of my first experiences was handing a woman with an eleven-day-old baby a blanket. I wasn't prepared for her tears. She said, "Thank you, now I have a place to lay my baby." The donated blanket was this baby's first bed.

Sometimes the experiences you have change the way you think of homeless people.

Let me share Dylan's story.

Dylan is six, and he is carrying everything he owns in a little bag on his back. His coat is an adult fleece, his shoes had holes in the bottom, and his clothes were coming apart at the seams. He lacked underclothes and his face was dirty.

Did you know the average age of a person who is homeless is 9?

We try to keep clothes for kids at the soup kitchen. We brought up bins of items that might fit the kids in Dylan's family. Of all the clothes, the girls were most excited about the underwear. They actually jumped for joy!

I will never forget Dylan's face as I placed a pair of gloves on his cold hands, his excitement as I placed a coat made for kids on his cold body. His sisters meticulously looked over everything in the bins.

This was their shopping experience.

As they held up each article of clothing their mom quietly said, "Only choose a couple things. It will be heavy to carry a lot."

The girls carefully made their choices and then gave me so many hugs of gratitude.

Have you ever thought about carrying all your possessions on your back?
Have you ever thought about your child having to carry all their belongs on their backs?

We called so many shelters hoping to get the family a place to sleep for the night. Every place we tried was full. There truly was no room at the inn, no where for this family to go on a cold night. It was hard watching them walk away. Each child carrying a backpack of their belongings, seeing the holes in Dylan's shoes as he walked out of my sight. I was left wondering what will become of this family. Where will Dylan sleep tonight?

Unfortunately there are many Dylan's in this world. Often I am asked how can I help?

Here are three simple things to do:

1. Go through your clothes. Take the time to donate clothes to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Do you know what the number one item homeless people ask me for.... Socks. They are also always in need of jeans.

2. Allow a homeless person to walk a mile in your shoes! Do you have tennis shoes that still have tread? I can't tell you how many homeless people have benefited from shoes with many miles of wear left. Start a shoe collection at your gym! (I started taking pictures of the shoes that homeless people were wearing. I wanted people to see them so they would donate their old shoes!)

3. Lastly, think underwear. When you get those bonus dollars at Kohl's, use it to buy underwear and socks. All sizes are needed. Think about little Dylan. He didn't have any underwear. When I bring up bins for kids, the kids are usually looking for underwear.

One more little story...

This is me with Simeon.

He battled stage 4 cancer while living in the streets. I learned from Simeon that the best place to sleep in the park is under the swings. Why? You don't have to panic when the sprinklers come on. They don't water the sand!

I visited Simeon many times in the hospital when he had treatments. He was grateful to see me but more grateful for the food. I can't imagine doing chemo on an empty stomach. I think my sweetest memory of him was helping him find his sister and letting him use my phone to Skype with her.
We're so grateful that Pam was so willing to share just a few of her experiences here on the blog today. What a powerful reminder that we have so much-and that we have so much to give. Just think: what would one good (not new-just in decent shape) pair of shoes do for someone... Donate today!

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What You Don't Know About Homelessness and How to Help

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I first met Pam as we were working together on a humanitarian project compiling thousands of kits for the homeless . I soon learned that compassionate acts of service are a significant part of Pam's life. Here's a few of her amazing stories and perspective on how we can help.

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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.
Homelessness in America

Seventeen out of every 10,000 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2019 during HUD's Annual Point-in-Time Count. These 567,715 people represent a cross-section of America. They are associated with every region of the country, family status, gender category, and racial/ethnic group.

Large Subpopulations. Certain subpopulations are significantly represented within homelessness:

Individuals. Seventy percent of people experiencing homelessness are individuals who are living on their own or in the company of other adults. The remainder (30 percent) are people in families with children.

Males. Homelessness is significantly defined by gender. Sixty percent of all people experiencing homelessness are male. Amongst individuals, the numbers are starker-70 percent are men and unaccompanied male youth.

Unsheltered. Far too many people in America sleep outside and in other locations not meant for human habitation. This group includes more than 200,000 people (37 percent of the overall population). Among individuals experiencing homelessness, the numbers are more dire-1 in 2 are unsheltered.

Most At Risk. Numerical size is one reason to focus on a subpopulation within homelessness. Risk is another. Some groups are much more likely to become homeless than the national average.

Pacific Islanders and Native Americans are most likely to be homeless in America when compared to all other racial/ethnic groups. Within the former, 160 people experience homelessness out of every 10,000 compared to the national average of 17 out of every 10,000. Pacific Islanders and Native Americans are numerically small groups within the U.S., making it more difficult for the U.S. Census Bureau and homelessness services systems to count them accurately. Nevertheless, available data suggest they face significant challenges.

Black Americans, multiracial Americans, and Hispanics/Latinxs are similarly situated. Group members are far more likely to be homeless than the national average and white Americans.

Prioritized Groups. Researchers and the public policy world have emphasized some additional subpopulations. Chronically homeless individuals are disabled and have experienced long-term and/or repeated episodes of homelessness. They are currently 17 percent of the population. Veterans, who are 7 percent of people experiencing homelessness, are prioritized due to their service to our country. And unaccompanied youth, who represent 6 percent of the population, are a vulnerable age group consisting of those under 25 years old.

COVID-19 Vulnerable. According to the CDC, some individuals are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. They include older adults age 65 and over. However, people experiencing homelessness age faster than housed people. Research indicates they have physical conditions that mirror those of people 15-20 years older than them. On a single day, an estimated 202,623 single adults experiencing homelessness are over age 50, suggesting they may be uniquely vulnerable to becoming seriously ill during the pandemic crisis.

An additional CDC-identified risk group is people with pre-existing health conditions. Before the current crisis, growing numbers were experiencing unsheltered homelessness-a living situation associated with poor health. A recent study sampled unsheltered individuals from across the country, finding 84 percent self-reporting existing physical health conditions. Only 19 percent of people in shelters said the same.

Trends in Homelessness

Compared to the previous year, homelessness increased by 3 percent in the 2019 Point-in-Time Count. This marked the third straight year of national-level increases.

Despite this negative movement, the long-term trend has been downward. Overall homelessness has decreased by 12 percent since 2007, the year nation-wide data collection began. The current COVID-19 crisis has the potential to diminish or completely wipe out these modest gains.

Subpopulations. Existing progress has been uneven. Subpopulations prioritized in policy and practice (including funding decisions) have made the most impressive gains over the last decade. Veterans experienced the greatest decreases in homelessness-50 percent. Other subpopulations have realized smaller reductions that, nevertheless, are larger than those in overall homelessness. They include people in families (29 percent), chronically homeless individuals (9 percent), and people experiencing unsheltered homelessness (10 percent).

One group is noticeably falling behind all others. Individuals have only realized a 0.2 percent reduction in homelessness over the last decade. Some are veterans, unaccompanied youth, and chronically homeless. These subgroups have been experiencing greater progress than individuals more generally-but they only make up a minority of the individuals population and help to mask the delayed progress of a sizable majority who are not veterans, unaccompanied youth, or chronically homeless.

Individuals are also solely responsible for the national-level increases in overall homelessness that occurred over the last three years. Individual homelessness increased by 11 percent over that period even as numbers for people in families continued to decrease. This upwards trend exists across a broad range of individuals, including the chronically homeless, men, women, and every racial/ethnic group.

States. As with subpopulations, some states are making more progress towards ending homelessness than others.

Thirty states reduced homelessness since the previous year. Long-term trends further highlight the more successful stories. A majority (37) have reduced homelessness since 2007, with the most significant gains occurring in Michigan (-70 percent), Kentucky (-49 percent), and New Jersey (-49 percent).

Other states have more people experiencing homelessness than they did more than a decade ago. Fourteen have seen their numbers increase between 2 and 72 percent over that period. New and decisive action is necessary to ensure these states build real momentum in the fight against homelessness.

Geographic Regions Experiencing the Greatest Challenges

Identifying the regions with the most challenges informs nation-wide efforts to end homelessness.

Counts. One approach is to examine the locations with the highest homeless counts. They include states such as California, Florida, New York, and Texas as well as Continuums of Care (CoCs) serving New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Texas' Balance of State. These locations share a common characteristic-relatively large general populations. They include major cities and Balance of States encompassing broad expanses of land (with numerous towns and cities).

Fifty-six percent of people experiencing homelessness are in the five states that have the largest homeless counts. More than 1 in 3 are in the twenty CoCs with the highest numbers of people experiencing homelessness. Thus, much of this national challenge is located in a small number of places, with most jurisdictions having a much smaller problem to manage.

Rates. Rates of homelessness are another way of gauging the severity of the problem within a jurisdiction. They reflect the number of people experiencing homelessness in relation to the general population.

Rates across the country are wildly divergent. Amongst states/territories, the District of Columbia (93 people experiencing homelessness out of every 10,000) and New York (47 out of 10,000) have the highest rates. By contrast, Louisiana (6 out of 10,000) and Mississippi (4 out of 10,000) have the lowest rates. Many homeless people reside in high rate jurisdictions. Forty-five percent are in the five states/territories with the highest rates.

Many of the high rate states and CoCs are associated with other notable housing issues. Researchers and advocates cite many of them as having the highest housing costs and highest rent burdens (housing costs as a percentage of income) in the nation.

Some states and CoCs are anomalies. Their counts and rates defy expectations rooted in overall population size and housing costs. Those states and communities may possess unusual characteristics tied to history, government policy, or culture. Some may have homeless services systems that are either highly effective or falling far short of their potential.

COVID-19. Counts and rates typically offer useful information about the challenges facing homeless systems-they reflect the number of people who need homeless services. During the current pandemic, there is a new challenge-the number of people who contract an infectious illness (COVID-19) while needing homeless services.

Self-quarantine, social isolation, and stay-at-home orders are difficult, if not impossible, to follow when you do not have a home. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered guidance on how to best serve people in shelters and unsheltered locations. Meeting COVID-19-related health needs is putting new strain on homeless services systems, especially those with large numbers of infected consumers.

Recent research predicts the number of COVID-19 cases that will arise among people experiencing homelessness in the nation's counties. Those facing the most severe challenges mainly reside in major cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, San Jose, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

Homeless Assistance in America

Homeless services systems do not have enough resources to fully meet the needs of everyone experiencing homelessness. Thus, it is helpful to examine the difficult decisions they must make, including how to allot the limited funds available to them.

Temporary Housing. Over the last five years, the number of temporary housing beds (Emergency Shelter, Safe Haven, and Transitional Housing) has decreased by 9 percent.

A national-level snapshot of these beds during the Point-in-Time count is informative. Individual community circumstances vary. However, in the aggregate, systems were able to offer a year-round bed to only 51 percent of individuals and 100 percent of people in families (the latter with a surplus of over 15,000 beds).

During the winter months, some communities temporarily supplement these year-round beds with seasonal ones. Nevertheless, many people are unsheltered, living on the streets, in abandoned buildings, or other locations not suitable for human habitation. Being unsheltered is mostly a challenge for individual adults, but some families with children are also in these living situations.

COVID-19 is creating a new type of emergency. According to an early estimate, 400,000 new units are needed to prevent the spread of the virus and care for the sick. These accommodations would allow for social distancing, quarantine, and isolation for people who are typically in crowded shelter settings or living unsheltered.

Permanent Housing. While the number of temporary housing beds decreased by 9 percent, the number of permanent housing beds (Permanent Supportive Housing, Rapid Re-Housing, and Other) increased by 20 percent over the last five years.

These numbers reflect a shift in policy priorities. Renewed emphasis is on ending homelessness by moving more people into permanent housing, rather than allowing them to linger indefinitely in shelters and unsheltered locations.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have participated in this trend over the last five years, growing their number of permanent housing beds. Eleven states and territories increased them by more than 50 percent over this short period of years.

Currently, 57 percent of all homeless system beds are designated for permanent housing.

Common Forms of Assistance. Nationally, the most common type of homeless assistance is permanent supportive housing (PSH). Forty-one percent of system beds are in this category which has grown by 96 percent since 2007. Emergency shelter beds, the second most prevalent intervention, have increased by 38 percent since 2007.

Rapid rehousing, the newest type of permanent housing intervention, is continuing along a path of rapid growth. There are 87 percent more beds in this category than there were five years ago.

Transitional housing is the only intervention on the decline-there are 55 percent fewer beds in this category than there were in 2007. This shift is a part of the trend towards more investment in permanent housing solutions.

Populations at Risk of Homelessness

Many Americans live in poverty, amounting to 38.1 million people or 11.8 percent of the U.S. population. They struggle to afford necessities such as housing.

In 2018, 6.5 million Americans experienced severe housing cost burden, which means they spent more than 50 percent of their income on housing. This marked the fourth straight year of decreases in the size of this group. However, the number of severely cost burdened Americans is still 13 percent higher than it was in 2007, the year the nation began monitoring homelessness data.

Another measure of housing hardship is "doubling up," or sharing the housing of others for economic reasons. In 2018, an estimated 4 million people were in these situations. Some of these people have fragile relationships with their hosts or face other challenges in the home, putting them at risk of homelessness. Over the last five years, this number of doubled up people has been trending downward but is still 12 percent higher than it was in 2007.

Over the last decade, the nation hasn't made any real progress in reducing the number of Americans who are at risk of homelessness.

Further, few states are realizing significant improvements in these areas. Within the category of severe housing cost burden, Colorado tops the list but has only reduced its numbers by 13 percent since 2007. Over the same period, Colorado is also the state making the most significant progress in the doubled up category-however, its number only decreased by 34 percent. Most states are seeing their severe housing cost burden and doubled up numbers grow.

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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State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition - National Alliance to End Homelessness

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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 [...]