Families

Homelessness among families is all too common in the United States. On any given night, 248,500 persons in families are homeless (HUD's 3rd Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress). Families who experience homelessness belie stereotypes that homeless people are somehow a population apart. The overriding characteristic of homeless families is their extreme poverty.

Nationally, families who experience homelessness have incomes under 50 percent of the poverty level. Most are headed by a single woman who has limited education. Only half of parents in families that experience homelessness have a high school diploma or a GED. While about a third of parents are working, most rely on government assistance to meet their basic needs.

Families that experience homelessness tend to be headed by young parents and have young children. Forty-two percent of children in families experiencing homelessness are age five and under. Families experiencing homelessness are more likely than their low-income, housed counterparts to be African American.

In most respects, however, families experiencing homelessness are very similar to other poor families. They have similar rates of domestic violence and mental illness. Children who experience homelessness have similar rates of anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and below-average school performance as their poor, housed counterparts. Despite the seeming resilience of children and families, homelessness can be very traumatic.

Fortunately, homelessness among families is typically not a long-term experience. The vast majority of families are in shelter a relatively brief period of time, and do not have a subsequent homeless episode. There are, however, a small number of families who, despite receiving a housing subsidy, will remain in shelter for an extended period of time or have multiple homeless episodes.

Many communities are taking steps to improve their response to family homelessness. They have adopted and refined strategies to prevent homelessness, provided resources to help families pay for housing over the short or long term, and developed Housing First interventions to help families find and stabilize in housing in the community.

The success of communities such as Hennepin County, Minnesota, which experienced a 43 decline in family homelessness, or Westchester County, New York, where family homelessness declined by 57 percent, offers a glimpse of what can be accomplished nationally with the necessary commitment of political will and resources.