The United States experienced an 18.1% increase in homelessness this year. Federal officials attribute this rise to multiple factors, including a growing number of asylum seekers, a lack of affordable housing, and the impact of natural disasters.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently published its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates. This report details the statistics on individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and those living in unsheltered conditions.
The report found more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase from 2023.
According to data provided by more than a dozen communities to HUD, the surge in homelessness can be linked to the influx of asylum seekers arriving in these areas.
A dog barks as a homeless person sleeps in the backyard of an abandoned house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Homelessness among veterans dropped to the lowest number on record, with nearly an 8% decrease – from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024, according to the report. Among unsheltered veterans, the number dropped nearly 11% – from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024.
The HUD said it helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households to stable rental homes through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program in 2024 and the Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 veterans — marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since 2019.
Douglas Bue, 65, pushes his wheelchair to his tent next to a homeless encampment outside the West L.A. Veterans Affairs facilities on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“No American should face homelessness, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring every family has access to the affordable, safe, and quality housing they deserve,” said Adrianne Todman, HUD agency head. “While this data is nearly a year old, and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing, it is critical that we focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness. We know what works and our success in reducing veteran homelessness by 55.2% since 2010 shows that.”
On Friday, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of measures to address homelessness across the country, including expanding the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and awarding nearly $40 million to support veterans through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.
