In 2015, there were 20,462 homeless people in families without shelter in the United States and not enough shelter beds for them in many of the nation’s Continuum of Care (CoC) areas. An additional 6,814 to 10,130 shelter beds are needed in emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, and rapid rehousing units to have enough shelter for all unsheltered homeless families with children in each CoC area.
Homeless people in families with children were without shelter throughout the country. According to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2015 Point-in-Time Count, there were homeless people in families with children who were without shelter in 47 states and in 242 of the nation’s 403 CoC areas.
Homeless families with children are living without shelter in wet and wintry locations. There were 128 homeless persons in families without shelter in the St. Charles, Lincoln, Warren Counties CoC in Missouri, 969 homeless persons in families without shelter in the Fort Pierce/St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin Counties CoC in Florida, 745 homeless persons in families without shelter in the Colorado Balance of State CoC, and 245 homeless persons in families without shelter in the Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s Counties CoC in Maryland.
Additional shelter beds are also needed throughout the country. Additional shelter beds (6,814 to 10,130) are needed for homeless families with children in at least 21 to 35 states and in at least 51 to 86 CoC areas, if every emergency shelter bed, transitional housing bed, permanent housing bed, and rapid rehousing bed in a CoC for homeless families is considered available.
The paucity of shelter beds available in each CoC area means that at least one-third to one-half of the homeless families with children who are without shelter likely have no means of obtaining shelter. The CoC areas mentioned above provide an illustration. There were not enough shelter beds for all of the homeless families with children in any of the four CoC areas on a single night. There were only 0 to 33 beds available and an additional 95 to 128 beds still needed in the St. Charles, Lincoln, Warren Counties CoC in Missouri. In the Fort Pierce/ St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin Counties CoC in Florida, there were only 32 to 34 beds available and 935 to 937 beds still needed. There were only 281 to 509 beds possibly available and 236 to 464 beds still needed in the Colorado Balance of State CoC. In the Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s Counties CoC in Maryland, there were only 50 to 75 beds available and 190 to 215 beds still needed.
The need for additional shelter resources for homeless families is great in many areas. Fifty or more additional shelter beds for homeless families are needed in 28 to 38 CoC areas. One hundred or more additional shelter beds are needed for homeless families in 18 to 23 of the CoC areas in 11 to 13 states.
The need for additional shelter resources for homeless families has remained fairly steady over the past two years. The 6,800 to 10,100 beds needed to shelter every homeless family with children in 2015 is only slightly less than the 9,800 to 12,100 additional beds needed to provide shelter for all homeless families in 2014.
With the vulnerability and well-being needs of children, Congress should provide the funding requested by HUD to end family homelessness by 2020 and at a minimum enough resources so that no homeless family with children is without shelter. In its fiscal year 2017 budget request, in addition to $11 billion requested over 10 years to serve 550,000 homeless families over that time period through housing choice vouchers and rapid rehousing, HUD requested $2.664 billion for its Homeless Assistance Grants for renewal funding, assistance for chronically homeless persons and homeless youth, and 8,000 new rapid rehousing units for homeless families, children, and youth and $88 million for 10,000 housing choice vouchers for homeless families with children.
The funding for the 8,000 rapid rehousing units and for the 10,000 vouchers, which would be awarded to public housing authorities in geographic areas with demonstrated need partnering with the local CoC to identify program participants, appear to entirely eliminate the gap between the number of homeless families without shelter and the number of available shelter beds on a given night. In developing the appropriations bills for fiscal year 2017, the U.S. House and U.S. Senate should include the $2.664 billion Homeless Assistance request and the $88 million voucher request so that no homeless family with children is forced to sleep on the streets, in a car, or in another place not meant for human habitation.