2024 was a record year for people experiencing homelessness. The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night was the highest it’s ever been, at 771,480. Of this number, 150,000 were children.
While this number can be overwhelming, the last administration made it a point to continue to give money to federal programs fighting homelessness. In the 2024 President's budget, he requested 3.7 billion dollars for HAG (Homeless Assistance Grants) under the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
However, with the funding freeze of critical programs in USAID due to the newly sworn-in Trump administration and the potential of downsizing in HUD, the time is now for community organizations to team up and coordinate strategies. If we all work together, we can continue to fight to end homelessness.
What Issues Cause Homelessness in America?
Issues that cause homelessness in America include the high cost of housing, inability to make enough money to make ends meet due to low wages, physical and mental health problems, addiction disorders, unemployment, domestic violence, and racial inequality. Many times, it's not just one single problem but a combination of challenges leading people to become unhoused.
However, the biggest issue at the moment is the housing shortage, which creates exorbitant housing costs. The cost of rentals greatly surpasses the federal minimum wage. A modest one-bedroom apartment requires an hourly rate of $21.21 to be affordable, yet the minimum wage is $7.25. This makes it nearly impossible to afford housing.
What Are Some Statistics About Homelessness in America?
Understanding the problem is key to figuring out a solution. HUD releases an annual report on homelessness to Congress, sharing critical insights into the homelessness crisis. Here are a few of the powerful statistics on homelessness from 2023-2024 included in that report:
- The number of families with children experiencing homelessness increased by 39%, the most in a single year.
- People who identify as Black, African American, or African make up 32% of people experiencing homelessness, yet make up only 12% of the total US population.
- On a more positive note, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness decreased by 8%.
- Out of the unhoused population, 25.4% more were able to find shelter (i.e., homeless shelter) from 2023-2024 than in 2020-2024.
- In 2024, over one in four people experiencing homelessness were under the age of 18.
7 Strategies to Reduce Homelessness in America
Due to the high costs of housing and other related factors, there was a major increase in sheltered homeless individuals, as stated above. That number pushed the overall number of homeless individuals in the US to higher numbers than pre-pandemic. While this is discouraging, we commend community organizations and local governments who have increased bed counts and shelter availability to ensure homeless individuals have a safe place to sleep.
As we work to eradicate homelessness in the US, consider the strategies below at your organization.
1. Robust Data Collection
Problems cannot be solved unless they're identified. A crucial first step to helping people who are homeless is to communicate with them and understand their needs. Establish a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) within your nonprofit and community.
This system allows you to collect data on services available in the community, help that clients need, and facts about how people and families are at risk for homelessness. Every governing body under HUD must operate a thorough HMIS under their standards.
Look to these standards as a guideline for communities and talk with local officials to see how nonprofits can access or contribute to this data collection.
Some of the data collection required under HUD includes, but is not limited to:
- Project Descriptors: organization, project, and continuum of care (CoC) information.
- Universal Data: name, social security, date of birth, gender, race, ethnicity, and CoC enrollment.
- Program-Specific: income sources, non-cash benefits, health insurance, physical disability, and health conditions
- Metadata Elements: date created, date updated, information date, project identifier, and enrollment identifier.
Utilizing HMIS software is the best way to collect and store data to access it easily and remain compliant with federal, state, and local standards.
2. Focus on Community-Wide Systems Through Coordinated Intake
The federal government recommends that state and local leaders look to the community to create systems to house the homeless. While this update was given in 2024, it remains relevant today. Communities must join together to create goals in two specific areas:
- Rehousing: create an exact number based on data collected from your community of how many people and families are currently homeless that could reasonably be put into housing in a given year.
- Housing creation: the number of new units of housing that can be used for unhoused people.
To meet these goals, set up a system of coordinated intake. When someone comes to an agency for help, the entire community can use the same system to match those in need to relevant housing assistance and other critical services.
When the entire community is involved, nonprofits and government leaders can secure those in crisis with housing as fast as possible through their connections. This also prevents new cases of homelessness by offering resources before someone is evicted from their home.
3. Secure Federal Housing Assistance
The federal government cares deeply about the homelessness crisis, so local communities should look to secure federal housing assistance for the members of their unhoused populations.
One of the most successful federal housing programs is the Housing Choice Vouchers (also known as Section 8 Vouchers) from HUD. Every state has local field offices that can help navigate public housing funding, so contacting that office can be a great place to start.
The vouchers offered through this program allow residents to rent market-rate housing with a subsidy that diminishes once their income rises. By securing these vouchers, people who are homeless can become housed (or circumvent homelessness altogether) and leave the shelter system.
Other critical federal housing resources to provide a solution for homelessness include:
- Community Development Block Grants: annual grants to states, cities, and counties to create urban communities with adequate housing and economic opportunities.
- Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP): provides emergency assistance to neighborhoods with large percentages of abandoned and foreclosed homes.
- Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly: Gives interest-free advances to private nonprofits to develop more affordable and supportive housing for those over 62 years old.
4. Institute Rapid Re-Housing
A key way to prevent extended homelessness is to get individuals and families back into housing as quickly as possible. The best way to do so is to secure adequate housing for what's referred to as rapid re-housing.
This idea identifies available housing so people at risk of homelessness can be moved in quickly, offers rental and move-in assistance so that the group stays housed, and offers case management services so that individuals can find employment to afford rent and basic needs.
The truth is, it's much easier to find solutions for people who are homeless once they're in a house. For example, most employers require a mailing address for a residence. Getting immediate housing expedites the process and keeps people out of the shelter system.
One of the biggest obstacles to rapid re-housing is finding landlords willing to offer their homes. Landlords need to be recruited continuously for these programs to work. Securing funding for rental assistance can be a helpful way to assure landlords they'll receive their rent payment every month.
These programs have shown fantastic results in local communities. For example, the rapid re-housing program in the cities of Burbank and Glendale has a 100% success rate.
5. Connect People to Services Through Case Management
Robust case management systems are a critical solution for homelessness. Every nonprofit or community resource center must implement thorough case management to connect unhoused people to the services they need and evaluate the performance of these systems.
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council outlines the goal of case management for individuals experiencing homelessness: "to ensure timely access to and coordination of fragmented medical and psychosocial services for an individual while considering costs, preventing duplication of services, and improving health outcomes."
Case management connects people to the services they need and prevents wasted community resources. While the levels of case management will differ vastly depending on the needs of the individual, the main components include:
- Robust intake forms to pinpoint needs
- Assessing how each of those needs can be addressed
- Connecting the individual to available services in the area
- Helping the individual reach and access those services
- Follow-ups to ensure the services are carried out
- Advocating for the client as needed
6. Report Housing Discrimination
Housing discrimination happens when an individual or family cannot rent or buy a home, seek housing assistance, or other housing-related matters due to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and/or disability. Housing discrimination is illegal under the Fair Housing Act. However, 4 million cases of it happen every year on average.
If you work in a nonprofit and one of your clients has been affected by housing discrimination, you can help them seek justice. File a complaint on HUD's website to report the offense. When reporting, you'll need the following information on hand:
- Name and address.
- Name and address of persons or organizations against which the allegation is being made.
- Address or other identification of the housing program involved.
- A description of the events that led to your rights violated.
- Dates of the alleged violation.
7. Performance Evaluation
Every action taken to prevent homelessness in a community must be evaluated from time to time to ensure the money is spent properly and housing goals are met. HUD has instituted system performance measures to encourage CoCs and people working with homeless assistance to track gains and losses.
What Are the Benefits of HMIS Software?
One of the best ways to synthesize all of these strategies in one place is through the use of homeless management information systems, or HMIS software. This allows for access to critical data anywhere it's needed and provides real-time data for homeless needs at the tip of your fingers, including items such as available shelter beds and housing units.
With HMIS software, you can:
- Capture intake information through customizable forms that address the needs of your specific populations.
- Find a realistic outcome through critical local services that can be measured through actionable goals.
- Ability to track clients through all the different systems needed to secure safe housing.
Organization can be a critical issue for housing nonprofits and government agencies. If the information is not easily accessible, then it can be difficult to know what's already been done for a client and what else is left to do. With HMIS software, all of the information is in one place, so you can check for progress and make snap decisions on what needs to happen next.
Streamline Strategies With Plan Street HMIS Software
Elevate your nonprofit's ability to tackle homelessness in America with robust HMIS software from PlanStreet. Our software meets the HUD baseline standards for collaborating and sharing information with HUD, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
With PlanStreet, you can share critical client data confidentially across agencies to assess needs and secure funding. Our software can be used with a plethora of programs that address homelessness, including but not limited to:
- Transitional home services
- Emergency shelters
- Rapid rehousing programs
- Permanent supportive housing
If you want more time to focus on caring for your clients, schedule an introductory call to see how PlanStreet can streamline strategies for tackling the solution for homelessness today.