US is on track to set record for homeless people with over 650K living on the streets

The US is set to break a new record number of homeless people with more than half a million people living on the street this year.

Data collected and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal from more than 250 homeless organizations have counted at least 550,000 homeless people so far, a 10 percent rise from last year’s reports. The numbers gathered from cities and rural areas show homelessness as it was on a single night earlier this year.

The upward trend means that the US will probably reach and pass the 2023 estimate of 653,000 homeless people. It’s the highest number since the government began sharing such data in 2007.

The final estimate of the number of unhoused people will depend on data not yet reported from areas such as New York City, which had the highest population of any city in 2023.

Contributing to the most recent rise are migrants bused by Texas to cities such as Chicago and Denver. Large numbers of migrants have also arrived in New York, increasing the numbers last year.

The most recent counts of homelessness in the United States were mostly conducted in January, shortly after there was a record number of unlawful border crossings. In the months that followed, there was a large decrease in crossings at the southern border and no migrants have been sent to Chicago or Denver since June.

However, the counts were typically done before that time.

It’s not just migrants adding to the expected record, since the end of aid during the pandemic, rising house prices and rents have forced people out of homes, homeless advocates say, The Journal noted.

Other issues spurring the numbers include crises of mental health and fentanyl – last year, the US set a new record for chronic homelessness, which includes disabled people who consistently are unhoused.

Almost 400 groups conduct the counts and some have declined to share their figures before the 2024 report by the Department of House and Urban Development is released in December. The figures are still preliminary and are a view of a single moment when the counts were conducted.

The counts are seen as being undercounts that can be severely affected by how many volunteers agree to take part or harsh weather conditions.

HUD has said that some cities are making progress, citing this year’s decreases in unhoused individuals in Pheonix and Los Angeles. The agency pointed to government efforts, including helping veterans, $175 million for housing, and $40 million for legal aid for residents facing eviction.

The department noted that it’s still reviewing the numbers for this year and that the counts from January might not be the same as today.

Boston said its number of unhoused people rose by 11 percent, partly due to rising numbers of migrants. Some cities and areas report their figures separately, but the numbers reported show that the figures went from 4,430 in 2023 to just over 12,000 this year.

The state said almost half of the 7,250 families in shelters in Massachusetts were migrants and the state is set to spend over $1 billion on shelters and other measures this fiscal year.

Other cities that reported increases in homelessness include Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Miami. Milwaukee saw a 16 percent decrease, according to The Journal.

The number of unhoused people in Chicago increased by almost triple, reaching almost 19,000. Over 70 percent of the homeless people in the city were migrants in shelters. However, the number of migrants in shelters had been lowered by September.

In January, the number of homeless people in Denver rose by 42 percent to around 14,300, a rise contributed to by migrants arriving by bus. The count took place when the number of migrants in shelters in the city was close to its highest point. In December last year, Texas sent 144 buses to the city.