HUD RELEASES 2020 ANNUAL HOMELESS ASSESSMENT REPORT PART 1
Washington – RealEstateRama – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released its 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1 to Congress. The report found that 580,466 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2020, an increase of 12,751 people, or 2.2 percent, from 2019.
The report found that between 2019 and 2020, homelessness increased significantly among unsheltered populations and people experiencing chronic homelessness. Veteran homelessness did not decrease compared with 2019, and homelessness among family households did not decrease for the first time since 2010. The report also found that people of color are significantly over-represented among people experiencing homelessness.
HUD releases the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR) in two parts. Part 1 provides Point-in-Time (PIT) estimates, offering a snapshot of homelessness—both sheltered and unsheltered—on a single night. The one-night counts are conducted during the last 10 days of January each year. The PIT counts also provide an estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness within particular homeless populations such as individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness and veterans experiencing homelessness.
In 2020, the PIT estimates of people experiencing homelessness in sheltered and unsheltered locations, as well as the number of beds available to serve them, were reported by 396 Continuums of Care (CoC) nationwide. These 396 CoCs covered virtually the entire United States.
The Point-in-Time counts of homelessness and the housing inventory information are based on data from January 2020 and thus do not reflect the health or economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for levels of homelessness or characteristic of people experiencing homelessness.
Key Findings of HUD’s 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1:
On a single night in January 2020, 580,466 people – about 18 of every 10,000 people in the United States – experienced homelessness across the United States. This represents a 2.2 percent increase from 2019.
After steady reductions from 2010 to 2016, homelessness has increased in the last four consecutive years.
The increase in homelessness was due to the rise in unsheltered individuals (a 7 percent increase from 2019) and this increase impacted the large increase in individuals experiencing chronic homelessness (a 15 percent increase since 2019). The increase in unsheltered homelessness is driven largely by increases in California and coincide with increases in overall homelessness.
Veteran homelessness did not decline in 2020. 2020 was the first year that homelessness among family households did not fall since 2010.
Youth homelessness is slightly down (a 2.2 percent decrease from 2019).
People of color are significantly over-represented among people experiencing homelessness.
For a more detailed analysis and in-depth information, read the full report.
