More than 770,000 people were recorded as homeless in the United States in 2024, a record which represents an increase of 18% compared to 2023, the US Department of Housing (HUD) announced on Friday.
Several reasons are cited by the ministry to explain this increase, mainly the lack of affordable housing, inflation, an influx of migrants, the end of certain aid put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, or even several natural disasters.
The report is based on censuses taken by several localities on a single night last January, and HUD therefore warns that it reflects data collected a year ago and is probably not an adequate representation of the current situation. due to changes in policies and circumstances. The record, however, illustrates the vast problem of economic and social inequalities within the world’s largest economy.
Among the alarming trends: the number of homeless families has increased sharply, due in particular to the “particularly notable impact” of immigration, according to the ministry press release.
Natural disasters, which are increasing in frequency with global warming, have also played an important role in the increase in the number of homeless people, such as the fire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, which left 5,200 people were counted in emergency shelters on the night of the count. Since then, the United States has experienced other disasters, such as hurricanes Helen and Milton, which ravaged the southeast of the country in recent months and displaced many residents.
The report highlights that Black and African American populations “continue to be overrepresented among homeless populations.” Some 32% of homeless people in the United States are black or African American, while people identifying as black make up only 12% of the total population in the United States.
The census was also carried out before a tightening of certain local policies in this area after the decision in June of the Supreme Court which allowed the authorities to sanction homeless people sleeping outside. The Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, ordered in the wake of this decision the dismantling of camps in areas controlled by this western American state. Nearly a quarter of the nation’s homeless are in California, according to the HUD report.
