Why is it important to talk about homelessness and housing affordability?

Before starting to discuss housing affordability, it is also essential to mention homelessness. Homelessness is not news. It is a social phenomenon that almost every city experiences. Though many reasons contribute to homeless populations, the lack of a variety of affordable housing types in the market is the most significant.

What is Homelessness?

According to "Homeless Definition" at HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), the homeless population can be grouped into four categories:

Someone who lacks a fixed, adequate nighttime residence.
Someone who is at imminent risk of homelessness.
Someone has not had permanent housing over the past 60 days or has moved at least twice during that period and is expected to continue this pattern for an extended period.
Someone who is fleeing domestic violence and has no other residence.

What do we know about homelessness from statistics?

1. On a single night in January 2020: 580,466 people experienced a homeless condition. That is about 18 of every 10,000 people in the United States.
2. Homelessness is in decline: if we only look at the past 4-5 years, we might be worried that the homeless population is growing. (Homeless communities increased 30,538 people. From 549,928 individuals in 2016 to 580,466 individuals in 2020, about 5% of the increase.) However, if we take a step back and look at homelessness with a broader lens, we will see the homelessness trend goes downwards. Moreover, as the national population increases each year, the percentage of homeless people is decreasing: from 0.21% in 2009 to 0.18% in 2020. Thus, there is a hope of ending homelessness.

3. Permanent supportive housing can effectively prevent homelessness from rising: From 2012, the number of homeless people dropped drastically. And the number of homeless people seemed to stabilize from the year 2014 to 2018. Why? I strongly suspect that providing consistent homes for the homeless community is the key. See the chart below. In 2014, the sheltered ratio reached a historical high (almost 70% of the homeless population have a place to stay and gain their interim stability.) After the peak of sheltered coverage, you can tell the homeless population calmed over 2014-2018.

Ending Homelessness vs. Increasing in public benefit

You might wonder why we even bother to discuss this issue here. After all, many vulnerable groups need our attention, from disabled individuals and asylum-seeking refugees to border-wandering immigrants. And why does this have to do with our public benefit? Isn't it just another cost out of taxpayers' pocket?

It might be too wild to imagine a city with Singapore's social housing, Cambridge's higher education, Copenhagen's biking culture, Hanoi's urban food production, New York's art and fashion, San Francisco's recycling system, Seattle's natural recreation, Philadelphia's storm-water management, Helsinki's happiness, and Vancouver's livability-this dream… this bucket list can go on and on.

Homelessness has an impact on public expenditure. It is often seen as an additional burden to the taxpayers. Yet the cost to prevent homelessness may be much less than the eventual cost aggregated on the health care systems, including mental health services, emergency services, and criminal justice services. The productivity generated by recovered homeless individuals will also benefit our overall society rather than ignore this potential workforce.

So, how could we support the homeless community?

Notes and References: