Homelessness

Housing gets big boost in Biden budget

The president is proposing funds to increase tax credits, support construction of affordable housing and reduce homelessness.

  • By Kery Murakami

Mayors, experts discuss the solution and barriers to ending homelessness

Amid a homelessness crisis nationwide, Houston and Los Angeles have housed thousands of people under a “housing first” approach.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Rent growth cools, but affordability is still out of reach

Even though rents aren’t rising as quickly as they were last year, they’re still too damn high for an increasing number of households.

  • By Molly Bolan

Can cities clear homeless camps without offering an alternative?

The Supreme Court will hear a case on how far local governments can go to enforce bans on sleeping and camping in public spaces.

  • By Molly Bolan

On the Agenda 2024: State and local issues to watch

Here are the 10 biggest challenges government leaders will confront in the new year.

  • By Route Fifty Staff

What HUD’s annual homelessness count misses

Rather than relying on a single metric, communities need to develop a data infrastructure they can use to track, reduce and end homelessness.

  • By Molly Bolan

Homelessness is increasing nationwide, but some cities see significant declines

Many believe they are seeing more people experiencing homelessness than ever before. But in three major cities, the data contradicts that perception.

  • By Molly Bolan

For homeless services staff, fulfillment doesn’t pay the bills

A survey of more than 5,000 U.S. homeless services workers found that 12% qualify for food stamps and 9% for housing vouchers.

  • By Molly Bolan

Maine death certificates don’t track housing status, but other states are starting to

Data on individual's housing status at their time of death can help policymakers better understand and respond to the risks and driving factors of the homelessness crisis.

  • By AnnMarie Hilton, Maine Morning Star

How the issue of housing and homelessness factored in state and local elections

It impacted mayoral races, and landed on the ballot as communities debated the merits of homeless encampment sweeps, tax hikes and affordable housing developments.

  • By Molly Bolan

Communities look to end prison-to-homelessness pipeline

Incarceration and homelessness are inextricably linked, each cycling into the other. As the housing crisis drags on, state and local governments are looking to prevent former inmates from becoming homeless in the first place.

  • By Molly Bolan

Cities turn to GIS mapping to find housing for the homeless

As a nationwide housing shortage continues to push people into homelessness, cities like Denver and Los Angeles are turning to data to help locate public land to put housing on.

  • By Molly Bolan
Featured eBooks
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California officials seek ‘care’ without coercion as new mental health courts launch this fall

Under the new system, family members and first responders can ask county judges to order people with psychotic illness into treatment, even if they are not unhoused or haven’t committed a crime.

  • By April Dembosky, KFF Health News

What does it mean when the homeless workforce can’t afford housing?

It means there’s fewer people to help the unhoused, exacerbating the homelessness crisis, a new report says. It estimates that $4.8 billion is needed to adequately pay current workers.

  • By Molly Bolan

Motels converted to house families at capacity, new homeless intake center expected to hit limit

The model of converting motels into shelter space has helped address underlying issues of homelessness by providing housing and individualized case management, but one county needs more of them.

  • By Michael Lyle, Nevada Current

To solve the affordable housing crisis, some communities are turning to hotels

The pandemic presented communities with a unique opportunity to convert hotels into residential spaces, creating everything from temporary transitional housing to long-term supportive homes. But is the model sustainable today?

  • By Molly Bolan

Prevention pays off: How one city may soon end family homelessness

Milwaukee’s community leaders and social services organizations are setting common goals and directing resources toward keeping families from becoming homeless in the first place.

  • By Molly Bolan

Couch, car or curb: Defining which young person is ‘homeless’ affects aid state by state

A patchwork of definitions complicates efforts to help youth without permanent homes.

  • By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline

Housing-first interventions, not policing, key to ending homelessness

New data shows that government assistance during the pandemic dramatically reduced homelessness. So why are cities and states increasingly turning to criminalization to address the issue?

  • By Molly Bolan

What it’s like to be a homeless woman

A recent survey of unhoused women sheds light on an oft-overlooked and little understood problem. As the number of homeless women grows, so do their concerns about safety and privacy.

  • By Molly Bolan

Emergency financial aid can prevent homelessness

COMMENTARY | People were 81% less likely to be homeless within six months after receiving financial aid through the Santa Clara County Homelessness Prevention System, according to a recent study.

  • By Tracy Destazio, Futurity