This post is part of Unsheltered, an Alliance blog series to explore the crisis of unsheltered homelessness in the United States. You can catch up on the whole series here. If you’re watching closely today, you may notice something important. […]
Category: Unsheltered
The Alliance’s Unsheltered blog series, explores trends, data, and interventions related to unsheltered homelessness.
Exploring the Crisis of Unsheltered Homelessness
Each night, nearly 200,000 Americans sleep outside or in a place not meant for human habitation, like an abandoned building, a park, or a car. Between 2015 and 2017, this population of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness jumped by almost 20,000. […]
Unsheltered Homelessness: Trends, Causes, and Strategies to Address
People sleeping on park benches and street corners are the most visible reminder of the United States’ continuing struggle with homelessness. On any given night, over 175,000 people are unsheltered, sleeping outside or in places not meant for human habitation. On […]
Today We Remember Those We Lost to the Street
The date Dec. 21 has meanings both ancient and new. Communities in every era have paused in awareness of waning daylight and the promise of the sun’s return; in our era, some will pause to look for assurance that the world keeps turning. It is appropriate that National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is Dec. 21.
For people living on the street, the darkest day of the calendar is especially dark; for a person to die on the street is an ending that should be unthinkable. Homeless advocates, today, will pause to honor the neighbors and fellow citizens who passed away in 2012 without a home.
Here’s What You Need to Know about HUD’s New Chronic Homelessness Definition
After years of trying to nail down a definition of chronic homelessness, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) finally released a new definition earlier this month. The new definition incorporates comments submitted over the years by a wide variety of stakeholders, including the Alliance.
Now that HUD’s definition is finalized, communities will need to make adjustments to their homeless systems in order to implement the new definition and use it to help end homelessness. We think the new definition will lead to improvements. But to understand fully why it’s good for ending homelessness, you need to first understand what the new definition changes.