After Nearly a Decade of Decreases in Homelessness in the United States 2017 May Reveal a Reversal of Fortune

Every two years, between 2007 and 2015, there has been a decrease in the total number of persons homeless in the United States according to point-in-time homeless count information provided to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by Continuums of Care (CoCs).[1] The 400+ CoCs are required by HUD to conduct a sheltered and an unsheltered homeless count every two years, which falls on odd number years.  

The following table notes the decreases that were reported every two years by the CoCs between 2007 and 2015.  

Table 1. # of Persons Who Were Homeless in the United States: 2007 – 2015

 A comparison of the 2017 point-in-time homeless count information to the 2015 count information may reveal a reversal of fortune when this year’s homeless count information is released by HUD in the fall. This reversal is true for Southern California and likely the State of California as noted in the tables below.  

Thanks to the Southern California Alliance of CoC Leaders[2], a comparison of their 2017 homeless count information was made to the 2015 homeless count. The Alliance consists of 13 CoCs that cover the entire area of Southern California.  

There is a 20.1% increase in the total number of persons reported by the Southern California CoCs between 2015 and 2017 as noted in table 2 below.  

Table 2. Total Number of Persons Counted as Homeless in Southern California in 2015 and 2017.

*not including Glendale, Long Beach, and Pasadena, which are cities in Los Angeles County.

The increase is largely due to the significant increase in Los Angeles County. However, the significant increase in Los Angeles County is in line with the increases that other California CoCs are reporting in 2017.

Table 3 was compiled by listing the 10 CoCs in the state of California with the largest totals of persons who were homeless in the year 2015. For these CoCs, the 2017 numbers were added, based on the numbers that were reported to the media or in reports that were released to the public by the CoCs.

The Los Angeles County CoC did not experience the largest increase between 2015 and 2017. Of note, the Alameda County CoC experienced an increase of 39.3% and the Sacramento County CoC 37.8%. Collectively, the 10 CoCs experienced a 23.3% increase between 2015 and 2017 as noted in the table below.  

Table 3. Total Number of Persons Counted as Homeless in Selected California CoCs in 2015 and 2017.

 HUD will release the 2017 homeless count information during the fall. Then we will know if there was a reversal of fortune regarding the total number of persons who were homeless in the United States during the past two years. Evidence noted in this report suggests that a reversal of fortune occurred, which for many of us aligns with a visible increase in the number of homeless persons we see living along the streets and sidewalks that we used every day for the past couple of years.