Federal officials recently shared some concerning news. The number of people without homes in the United States went up a lot – by 12%. This happened because rents went higher, and the help people got during the coronavirus pandemic became less.

In January this year, about 653,000 people didn’t have a home. This is the highest number since they started counting in 2007. If we compare it to January 2022, around 70,650 more people are now homeless.

New People Becoming Homeless

A big part of this increase is because more people are becoming homeless for the first time. This also stopped a trend – before this, fewer families were becoming homeless since 2012.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge, says, “We urgently need support for proven solutions to help people get out of homelessness quickly and to stop it from happening in the first place.”

Homelessness Went Down, Then Up Again

Before this, the United States was doing a good job. The number of homeless people was going down, especially for veterans. From about 637,000 in 2010 to about 554,000 in 2017, there were fewer homeless people.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress gave emergency rental help, stimulus payments, support for local governments, and stopped people from getting kicked out of their homes for a while. This made the numbers go up a bit to around 580,000 in 2020, but things stayed kind of the same for the next two years.

Jeff Olivet, who works at a place that helps with homelessness, says, “The extra help kept homelessness from going up, but now it’s happening.”

Why Are More People Homeless?

Many things can make people homeless. Jeff Olivet says not having homes that people can afford and homes being too expensive are big reasons. Many Americans are just getting by with their paychecks, and if there’s a big problem, they might end up homeless.

Who Is More Affected?

• Individuals: Almost 11% more individuals became homeless.
• Veterans: 7.4% more veterans became homeless.
• Families: 15.5% more families became homeless.

Even though Black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population, they are 37% of all homeless individuals. Adults over 54 also make up more than 25% of those who are homeless.