According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 610,042 people experience homelessness on any given night in the US.
- Chronic homelessness is the term given to individuals that experience long-term or repeated times of homelessness. The chronic homeless are often the public face of the homelessness issue, however they make up only 18% of the entire homeless population according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
- About 57,000 or 9% of all homeless persons are veterans
- A survey of 29 cities in the United States found the homeless population to increase by 6% from the previous year.
- The same report found that 26% of homeless adults suffered from some form of mental illness.
- According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a family with a full-time worker making minimum wage could not afford fair-market rent for a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.
- The lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest factors behind homelessness .
- Veterans are a specific demographic when it comes to homelessness, veterans often experience homelessness because of disabilities caused by their experience on the battlefield. Physical injuries, post-traumatic stress and mental suffering are just a few of the wartime after effects that drive the population of homeless veterans.
Facts courtesy of Move For Hunger