Another crisis that Joe Biden has been pretending doesn't exist is the homelessness crisis. The number of "unhoused people," to use the new-fangled term for homeless people so we don't hurt their feelings or something, has increased 12% just in the last year. Numbers rose across "all household types, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a new report," reported by Axios.
About 650,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January, according to the report. That figure represents "the highest number of people reported as experiencing homelessness on a single night since reporting began in 2007," the report says.
Other findings from the report:
- Black people made up 13% of the U.S. population in 2023, but they made up 21% of the U.S. population living in poverty, 37% of all people experiencing homelessness and 50% of homeless people in families with children.
- Asian and Asian American people had the largest percentage increase in homelessness, up 40% from 2022, to a total of 11,574.
- Hispanic and Latino people saw the largest numerical increase, up 28% from 2022 to 179,336 in 2023.
CNN claims that homelessness hit record levels because rents have soared.
“Homelessness is solvable and should not exist in the United States,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge in a statement. “We’ve made positive strides, but there is still more work to be done. This data underscores the urgent need for support for proven solutions and strategies that help people quickly exit homelessness and that prevent homelessness in the first place.”
What "positive strides" would that be? Secretary Fudge is a former member of Congress and is well-named. "Fudging" statistics appears to be her specialty.
The biggest numerical growth in people experiencing homelessness was among Latinos. There were 28% more Latinos who were unhoused in 2023 than the year prior. This population made up 55% of the total increase in US homelessness, with 39,106 additional Latinos without housing this year.
The survey also found a sharp jump in the number of people who became homeless for the first time.
Between federal fiscal year 2021 and 2022, the number of people who became newly homeless increased by 25%, even as the number of people who exited homelessness to permanent housing increased by 8%, according to the HUD report.
Homelessness is not "solvable" without a massive investment in affordable housing. But, also, there needs to be a concerted effort to deal with the mental health crisis in the streets. We can't continue to listen to people who say mentally ill people don't belong in institutions.
Until there are enough beds in mental health facilities to deal with people who need treatment, there will be a massive homeless problem.
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