A recent report the Department of Housing and Urban Development prepared for Congress confirms what so many of us see or experience in our communities: The number of people without homes has reached record levels. According to that report, the 2023 “Point-in-Time (PIT) count” showed the highest number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night since reporting began in 2007. Since last year, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 12%. A full 40% of people experiencing homelessness were unsheltered, living “in places not meant for human habitation.”
A full 40% of people experiencing homelessness were unsheltered, living “in places not meant for human habitation.”
That’s the bad news. The good news? As we’ve already seen before, with action from Congress, the administration and state and local communities, homelessness is solvable and preventable. During the pandemic, lawmakers at the federal, state and local levels prevented an eviction tsunami by providing unprecedented resources and protections to get and keep people housed. The measures included $46.6 billion in emergency rental assistance, a national moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent, emergency housing vouchers and other resources to move people experiencing homelessness to safety.
The worst of Covid may be behind us, but the nation’s housing and homelessness crisis remains severe. Congress must now act with the same resolve it found during the worst of Covid to support the lowest-income renters and people without homes.
Homelessness is a policy choice. It’s the consequence of a longstanding failure by the U.S. to prioritize the housing needs of its lowest-income residents. The main reason people become homeless is simple: They lack access to affordable homes. Nationally, there are fewer than 4 homes affordable and available for every 10 of the lowest-income people. The shortage of homes for extremely low-income renters is a structural feature of…
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