The annual government report on U.S. homelessness showed a 12% rise over the period of January 2022 to January 2023, and the annual survey next month is expected to show the same or a higher rise over 2023. On Dec. 15, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its annual tally “2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates.” It gives a yearly snapshot for those without a home on a single night in January. This survey is taken for all states and localities which cooperate with HUD in housing.
The number of homeless people in the U.S. as of January 2023 was 650,000, up 12% from the year earlier. This gets back to the pre-COVID 19 pandemic trend in which from 2016 to 2020, homelessness was rising yearly. In 2020, homelessness hit 580,000. Then, the homeless tally went down under conditions in which federal funds aided localities in putting people in hotels and other lodging during the pandemic, under the American Rescue Plan. Now that resources have stopped or dwindled under that act, homelessness has climbed. The January 2023 homeless figure is higher than at any time since the point-in-time (PIT) tally started in 2007.
