Homelessness

Why are People Homeless?

This question has led to numerous and often heated debates, often biased by political ideologies and personal beliefs. In part, this has occurred because the factors leading to homelessness are complex, interwoven, and multilayered. Structural issues create the context for homelessness but do not explain who is most vulnerable to losing his or her homes. Structural, or macrolevel, factors include the supply of affordable housing, poverty levels, unemployment and foreclosure rates, family composition, and availability of benefits. Extreme poverty is by far the greatest driver, and in combination with the relative lack of affordable housing, explains why so many individuals and families are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

As described by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2010 in Out of Reach, the confluence of extreme poverty with the absolute shortage of affordable housing units is especially challenging for extremely low income (ELI) renter households—or those earning 30% or less of their area's median income. With 9.2 million ELI renters and only 3.4 million affordable and available units, it is easy to understand why homelessness is a major social problem. Many of these renters pay more than half of their incomes for housing costs and are designated as having “worst case housing needs.” They carry the highest risk of becoming homeless. As their purchasing power decreases, they often must choose among rent, food, clothing, child care, transportation, and other essentials.

This situation has worsened in recent decades as poverty rates have soared. According to the U.S. Census, 43.6 million people were living below the federally established poverty line in 2009. For a family of four, this means income of about $22,000. The poverty rate of 14.3% (a 15-year high) placed many more people at risk for becoming homeless. In fact, in every state, housing costs outpace wages. An individual working a full-time job at minimum wage cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment for himself or his family anywhere in the United States. Similarly, with the exception of some counties in Puerto Rico, the same worker would be unable to afford a one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent anywhere in the country. In most states, the hourly wage needed to afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment is 2 to 3 times the minimum wage. Furthermore, one potential solution, housing vouchers, meet only one quarter of the need.

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