News

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the latest estimate of homelessness in the U.S., noting a continued general decline and specifically among veterans and persons living on the street.  HUD's 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress finds that there were 578,424 persons experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2014.  This represents an overall 10% reduction and 25% drop in the unsheltered population since 2010, the year the Obama Administration launched Opening Doors, the nation's first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness.

HUD's annual 'point-in-time' (PIT) estimates seek to measure the scope of homelessness on a single night in January. These one-night 'snapshot' counts are then reported to HUD as part of state and local grant applications. While the data reported to HUD does not directly determine the level of a community's grant funding, these estimates, as well as full-year counts, are crucial in understanding the scope of homelessness and measuring progress in reducing it.

Based on data reported by state and local planning agencies, last January's one-night estimate reveals a 33% drop in homelessness among veterans, including a 43% reduction in unsheltered homelessness among veterans, since 2010 and a 10.5% decline since last year. State and local communities also reported a 15% decline in the number of families with children experiencing homelessness since 2010, as well as a 53% reduction among these families who were found be to unsheltered.

View HUD's Press Release

Learn more about homeless data reported on a state and community level

TAC's Homelessness Work