Homelessness

HOMELESSNESS

582,462 US people were counted as homeless in January 2022. This is 18 out of every 10,000 Americans. Maine counts 32 out 10,000 as homeless, above the national average and 8 th in the US in homelessness per capita. 72% of the homeless are single adults, eligible for a minimum of social services.

What factors cause homelessness? One is the lack of affordable housing. There used to be public housing in the US, but because of the widely publicized horrors of a few neglected public housing projects, the whole program was more or less abandoned, and now there are very few new projects. Another factor is the lack of mental health services. Again, because of a few widely publicized horrors, many mental hospitals were closed and community-based mental health facilities were never built. Then there are physical health problems and the various “drugs of despair” such as opioids and alcohol. There is really no excuse for a nation as rich as the US to have the large problem of homelessness that we have. 

Sources: National Alliance to End Homelessness: “The State of Homelessness” 2023 edition, based on HUD data for 2022.