National Statistics on Family Homelessness

Being without a safe, warm place to sleep, eat, and care for children, without the security of familiar people and things; this is homelessness. The loss of a home is a crisis for anyone, but especially for families. Parents must endure the heartache of not being able to provide a secure environment for their children. Without a home, children, who now comprise 25% of our nations homeless population, may spend many of their formative years without the most basic resources required for healthy development.

There are several national estimates of homelessness. Many are dated, or based on dated information. For this reason, none of these estimates is the definitive representation of "how many people are homeless," but the best approximation is from an Urban Institute study which states that about 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year (Urban Institute 2000).

There is another important methodological issue that should be considered. Regardless of the time period over which the study was conducted, many people will not be counted because they are not in places researchers can easily find. This group of people, often referred to as "the unsheltered" or "hidden" homeless, frequently stay in automobiles, camp grounds, or other places that researchers cannot effectively search. For instance, a national study of formerly homeless people found that the most common places people who had been literally homeless stayed were vehicles (59.2%) and makeshift housing, such as tents, boxes, caves, or boxcars (24.6%) (Link et al., 1995). This suggests that homeless counts may miss significant numbers of people who are homeless, including those living in doubled-up situations.

Each night across America more than one million children have no place to call home. These families represent the largest and fastest growing group of the homeless population. For these families a lack of affordable housing is just one part in a larger set of problems including inadequate education, domestic violence, poor employability, and a general lack of community and personal support.

Prior to recent times, many people believed that only alcoholics or severely mentally ill people could wind up homeless. But these stereotypes never did accurately portray the homeless population, and definitely do not reflect reality today. Families with young children now account for up to forty percent of America's homeless, and they are its fastest growing segment.

The root cause of homelessness is simply the lack of sufficient family income to maintain decent, affordable housing. Hundreds of thousands of American families have found themselves caught in the growing gap between family income and the cost of a home. Low-income renters are often only one paycheck or calamity away from homelessness. The loss of a job, an increase in rent, sudden illness, the gentrification of a neighborhood, the absence of family support any one of these can drive a family into homelessness.

Fortunately, many thousands of people believe that homelessness remains unacceptable especially in the world’s wealthiest, and most generous, society. And there is much that one person can do about it especially in concert with others. The Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) is a tangible way many Americans have joined together to provide real help and compassion to homeless families, and to work together toward permanent solutions.

  
   

Copyright © 2004 - 2006 Family Promise of Santa Rosa, Inc. - All rights reserved.     

  
   


 Web Design by: 

 

 REGISTERED WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, REGISTRATION #CH17553.  “A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE 1-800-435-7352.  REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.”