Marginalized Groups Subject to Systemic Disinvestment and Discrimination

Communities of Color

People of color across most races experience disproportionate rates of homelessness. For example, the rate of homelessness among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders is the most disproportionate of any racial group. People of American Indian, Alaskan Native, or Indigenous descent, as well as people of Black, African American, or African descent, also experience higher rates of homelessness than the overall population. People who identify as Black, African American, or African, for example, make up just 12 percent of the total U.S. population but were 32 percent of all people experiencing homelessness.

Latino Homelessness

For years, federal homelessness data has suggested Latinos — unlike most other BIPOC groups — are represented proportionally in the population of people experiencing homelessness to their share of the general population, and, in some regions, even slightly underrepresented. New analysis reveals that homeless count data may have masked a larger population of Latinos experiencing homelessness or at risk of falling into homelessness.

Learn more

LGBTQ+ Youth and Family Rejection

LGBTQ+ individuals are at a higher risk of homelessness, often due to family rejection and discrimination. They face additional challenges in securing safe housing and stable employment and are more likely to experience economic instability. Gender-expansive people (transgender people, people who are not singularly male or female, and gender-questioning people) have experienced alarmingly fast increases in homelessness. Since 2015, for example, transgender homelessness has increased 217 percent.

People with Disabilities

Disabled people living in the United States tend to have lower incomes and are less likely to be working than the nondisabled population, often relying on fixed nonemployment income sources such as Supplemental Security Income. Disabled people are often underpaid, excluded from economic opportunity, experience housing discrimination, and face a high risk of eviction. This has led to increases in homelessness beginning in 2016.

The Intersectionality of Race and Gender Identity

Homelessness, racism, homophobia, and transphobia collide within LGBTQ+ communities, creating especially high barriers to appropriately serve impacted people. For example, youth that identify as both people of color and LGBTQ+ experience some of the highest rates of homelessness. This demands that our systems analyze their data to identify intersectionality and the inequitable impact of systems on various populations of people experiencing homelessness.

Current or Prior Involvement with Criminal Justice System

Criminal history — regardless of how recent or type of crime — can be a barrier on its own to accessing housing and employment. Both people of color and people with disabilities are overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice system. Therefore, people of color and people with disabilities who also have a history of involvement with the criminal justice system often face severe barriers to obtaining and maintaining stable housing.

Domestic Violence

There is a great deal of stigma associated with domestic violence. Survivors often face significant housing discrimination, for example from when housing applications are denied to due evictions stemming from violence perpetrated by the abuser. Because domestic violence is most commonly thought of as something that happens in heterosexual relationships, programming often caters to those households, especially women with minor children. Therefore, survivors of domestic violence who also identify as LGBTQ+ will face even greater challenges to getting access to the support they need.