Surging housing costs, a shortage of affordable rental units, and the ongoing opioid crisis reportedly are factors leading to a record number of people who are homeless in the U.S.
The number of homeless people has jumped 11% so far this year, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Outside of an artificially high total last year following an interruption in counting caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the next-highest increase since the U.S. government started tracking comparable numbers in 2007 was 2.7% in 2019.
High housing costs are taking the heaviest toll, the Journal reported, following the end of pandemic-era policies such as financial aid and eviction moratoriums.
"The COVID-relief funds provided a buffer," Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director at the National Coalition for the Homeless, told the Journal. "We're seeing what happens when those resources aren't available."
The Journal reviewed data from more than 300 entities that count homeless people in cities and states. Those entities accounted for eight of every nine homeless people counted last year. The Journal's total includes more than 577,000 homeless people. The outstanding entities, known as continuums of care, declined to provide their numbers, didn't respond to requests, or couldn't be reached.
They are preliminary numbers, the Journal reported, and a final estimate, representing a single night of homelessness in the U.S., is expected later this year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
An influx of illegal immigrants has inflated homeless counts in New York, which recently reported about 82,700 people in its shelter system. In Massachusetts, Democrat Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency this month because of a fast-rising number of migrant families in need of shelter and services. That state has a law requiring shelter for homeless families.
Los Angeles County has seen a nearly 10% increase in homeless people, the Journal reported, and New Orleans' homeless count rose almost 15%, reversing recent improvements. Rising rents and damage from Hurricane Ida in 2021 have contributed to the rise, said Martha Kegel, who leads New Orleans' local continuum.
"It's all the more disheartening because we made huge progress in reducing homelessness during the first two years of the pandemic," Kegel said.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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