HUD: Housing programs crucial as homelessness reaches new highs 

A new report on homelessness from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development paints a picture of an increasingly bleak housing crisis, but perhaps offers some glimmers of hope.

Homelessness reached a new high in 2024: On one night in January, HUD said it counted approximately 771,480 people who were in shelters or temporary housing, or who had no housing at all. This translates to roughly 23 out of every 10,000 people in the United States — the highest number of people experiencing homelessness on record. The figure also represents an 18% year-over-year increase in the total number of homeless people based on HUD's annual point-in-time count.

More families are unhoused, and people of color are disproportionately represented: For families with children, the rise in homelessness between 2023 and 2024 was even sharper, increasing 39%. Of the total homeless count, 150,000 individuals were children.

People identifying as Black or African American were vastly overrepresented: While Black Americans account for roughly 12% of the U.S. population, they made up 32% of the homeless count in 2024. But in one piece of good news, that share decreased from 37% last year.   

HUD researchers pointed to a number of culprits, including the increasing cost of housing, inflation, sluggish wage growth, natural disasters and immigration. Places that were particularly strained were Maui County in Hawaii, which was ravaged by devastating wildfires in 2023, and major cities like Chicago and New York which witnessed an influx of migrants.

Some positive signs: Despite the alarming trend highlighted in the report, HUD noted that veterans were the one demographic to see continued declines in homelessness, with the number of veterans experiencing homelessness down 8% from 2023. Since HUD began gathering data on this population in 2009, it has seen a 55% decline in veteran homelessness, thanks to "targeted and sustained funding" for this specific population. 

In an interview on PBS NewsHour last week, Shaun Donovan, CEO and president of Enterprise Community Partners and a former HUD chief, said the improvement in the veteran population illustrates a "really a hopeful sign we do know how to solve homelessness" and could help serve as a blueprint as policymakers work to address the crisis more broadly.

"We have made progress in this country," Donovan said. "Even among these bleak numbers, this year, we saw a seven and a half percent decrease in the number of veterans who are sleeping on our streets or in shelters. And so we can take that example of what works and we can scale it and really begin to reverse the tide of these tragic numbers."

What's currently being done? HUD noted that it has issued numerous grants throughout the year specifically targeted at fighting homelessness and bolstering affordable housing. Some highlights include a $3.16 billion award announced in January and an additional $3.5 billion grant announced in July for HUD's Continuum of Care program — which funds state and local initiatives aimed at assistance, care and support for those experiencing homelessness. 

HUD has also been supporting programs that directly address hurdles to new housing, including the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program announced by the Biden-Harris administration in June. The program aims to preserve existing affordable housing while tackling issues like restrictive local zoning that make it harder to build new units. Specific goals are to "revise land use policies, streamline the permitting process for housing construction, and take other actions to create more housing-forward communities."