Facts About Homelessness
In no state does a full-time minimum wage job cover the costs of a one-bedroom unit at Fair Market Rent, and in 45 states and the District of Columbia, families would need to earn at least double the minimum wage in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at Fair Market Rent. (Out of Reach: Can America Pay the Rent?, via the National Coalition for the Homeless).
Approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year (Urban Institute 2000).
In 2001, the U.S. Conference of Mayors survey found that single men comprised 40% of the urban homeless population and single women 14% (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2001).
In its 2001 survey of 27 cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that the homeless population was 50% African-American, 35% Caucasian, 12% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2001).
Approximately 33% of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 23% of the general adult male population. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that on any given night, 299,321 veterans are homeless (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 2003).
According to SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), more than 120,000 admissions to substance abuse treatment in 2000 were homeless at time of admission. Admissions who were homeless were more likely to be veterans and were older (average age 38 years) than admissions who were not homeless (age 33).
According to a 2001 study, Helping America's Homeless, it is estimated that 842,000 people were homeless in a given week. In the same year, an estimated 3.5 million people were homeless over the course of a year. (http://www.bphc.hrsa.gov/hchirc/about/)
DID YOU KNOW?
Approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year (Urban Institute 2000).
© 2003-2008 Project PLASE