Who Are Today's Homeless?

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), between 700,000 and 800,000 people are homeless on any night in the U.S., with between 2.5 and 3.5 million people experiencing homelessness during the course of a year.  More than one million of them are children.

Research indicates that – of the total population of homeless – 81 percent will enter and exit a shelter quickly, and not return for a prolonged period of time or never return. This population of temporary, or transitional, homeless individuals and families experience a life-altering event (e.g. job loss, natural disaster, divorce, abuse, or medical condition) that drives them to homelessness.

Typically, these temporary homeless individuals and families merely need a second chance to get their feet back on the ground, attain self-sufficiency, and move quickly toward acquiring some sort of permanent housing.

Of the remaining 19 percent of the homeless population, nine percent enter and exit shelters repeatedly, and are referred to as “episodically homeless,” and 10 percent remain in shelters and are part of the chronic homeless population, also referred to as the “hopeless” or “street” homeless.

In a broad sense, today’s homeless refers to all of these populations. While HomeAid serves each of these populations with housing projects across the U.S., the organization’s primary emphasis is the 81-percent of temporary homeless, who are homeless today, but -- if we are successful with service providers and community leaders -- not tomorrow.

Causes of Temporary/Transitional Homelessness
The U.S. Council of Mayors sites a number of diverse and complex factors that contribute to the problems of homelessness. Many of these factors are interrelated. Listed in order of frequency, the following causes were identified by cities surveyed in the Council of Mayors' 2007 Report on Hunger and Homelessness: lack of affordable housing, mental illness and the lack of needed services, substance abuse and the lack of needed services, low-paying jobs, domestic violence, prisoner re-entry, unemployment, and poverty.

Narrowing the scope to the temporary or transitional homelessness, HomeAid serves a wide range of families and individuals who are in need of a dignified place to call home while they rebuild their lives. The following is a list of the top constituencies served by HomeAid:

• Victims of domestic violence
• Abused women and children
• At-risk teens with no place to go
• Women in crisis pregnancies and newborns
• Young adults who have aged-out of the foster care system
• Mentally disabled persons
• People coping with debilitating medical conditions and/or the costs of treatment
• Pregnant teens, and teen mothers and their babies
• Victims of job loss, divorce, or desertion
• Those affected by natural disasters and other catastrophes