Homelessness in the United States jumped by nearly 20% this year due to the increase in the number of asylum seekers as well as the worsening housing affordability crisis.
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. The report highlights the number of people living in shelters or temporary housing in the US as well as those who are currently homeless.
The HUD report found that there has been an increase of 18.1% in homelessness across the nation this year. Specifically, there are more than 770,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January alone. In comparison, officials counted 650,000 homeless people in 2023 and 580,000 in 2022.
It is important to note that the report does not take into account the number of people who are without home and are currently staying with family or friends.
What Caused the Increase in Homelessness?
The HUD report attributed the recent increase in homelessness in the US to soaring rents, and the end of COVID-19 pandemic-era measures that protected the needy.
Biden administration officials also claimed the increase could have been caused by the influx of asylum seekers who overwhelmed shelters, per the New York Times. Some of the cities particularly impacted by the arrival of migrants include Chicago, Denver, and New York City, the HUD report showed. That said, the Biden administration noted that the number of migrants has fallen since the annual count was done.
"This data is nearly a year old and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing," Adrianne Todman, acting housing secretary, said in a statement to the publication.
Other Factors That Caused Homelessness
Apart from those mentioned, experts also attributed the rise in homelessness to the recent disasters. In August of last year, for example, a wildfire razed through the island of Maui. The fire destroyed much of the town of Lahaina and damaged over 2,200 structures. On the night of the count in January, over 5,200 people were still staying in emergency shelters in Hawaii, AP News reported.
