News and Commentary

Homelessness Is On The Rise In The U.S. And One State Is Driving It

   DailyWire.com
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 28: People walk in Skid Row while new school supplies were donated to thousands, including new athletic shoes donated by Foot Locker, at Fred Jordan Missions on Skid Row, on September 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Fred Jordan Missions, which feeds over 100 people experiencing homelessness daily, hosts the annual event with Foot Locker. They donated new sneakers and other school supplies to more than 3,000 underprivileged and homeless children this year.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

A new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday revealed that homelessness is on the rise in the U.S. and that Democrat-controlled California is the main force behind the overall increase of the homeless population in the United States.

“While the rest of the country experienced a combined decrease in homelessness in 2019, significant increases in unsheltered and chronic homelessness on the West Coast, particularly California and Oregon, offset those nationwide decreases, causing an overall increase in homelessness of 2.7 percent in 2019,” HUD said in a statement. “Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia reported declines in homelessness between 2018 and 2019, while 21 states reported increases in the number of persons experiencing homelessness. Homelessness in California increased by 21,306 people, or 16.4 percent, which is more than the total national increase of every other state combined.”

The report found that 567,715 persons experienced homelessness on a single night in 2019, which was an increase of nearly 15,000 thousand people from the previous year.

“As we look across our nation, we see great progress, but we’re also seeing a continued increase in street homelessness along our West Coast where the cost of housing is extremely high,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “In fact, homelessness in California is at a crisis level and needs to be addressed by local and state leaders with crisis-like urgency. Addressing these challenges will require a broader, community-wide response that engages every level of government to compassionately house our fellow citizens who call the streets their home.”

HUD noted the following key findings from its report [emphasis is HUD’s]:

  • 567,715 people were homeless, representing an overall 2.7 percent increase from 2018 but a nearly 11 percent decline since 2010.
  • 37,085 Veterans were reported as homeless, a decline of 2.1 percent from 2018 and 50 percent since 2010.
  • 53,692 families with children experienced homelessness last January, down nearly 5 percent from 2018 and more than 32 percent since 2010.
  • Homelessness increased in California by 21,306 people, or 16.4 percent, accounting for more than the entire national increase.
  • The estimated number of persons experiencing long-term, chronic homelessness increased 8.5 percent between 2018 and 2019. This increase was concentrated on the West Coast, with the largest increases in California.
  • The number of unaccompanied homeless youth and children in 2019 is estimated to be 35,038, a 3.6 percent decline since 2018. HUD and local communities are engaged in a more intense effort to more accurately account for this important, difficult-to-count population.

The rapidly deteriorating conditions inside Democrat-controlled California are likely a significant reason why California’s population growth rate is at its lowest point in nearly 120 years.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

The estimates, which indicate that California’s population grew by 141,300 people between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019, nonetheless signal a 0.35% growth rate, “down from 0.57% for the prior 12 months — the two lowest recorded growth rates since 1900,” [Department of Finance] officials underscored.

According to the agency, natural increase (with 452,200 births and 271,400 deaths) accounted for an additional 180,800 people to the state. Still, these gains were offset by losses in net migration — that is, the total amount of people moving into the state minus the total amount of people moving out. Notably, said Eddie Hunsinger, a demographer with the Department of Finance, even though the net international migration added to the state’s population, there was substantial negative domestic net migration, which resulted in a loss of 39,500 residents. This, said the department, marks “the first time since the 2010 Census that California has had more people leaving the state than moving in from abroad or other states.”

 

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Homelessness Is On The Rise In The U.S. And One State Is Driving It