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Homelessness Statistics / Homelessness Stats   
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Homelessness stats cover areas related to the homeless and hunger and include number of homeless persons, causes of homelessness, shelter information, demographic information of homeless persons, and other trends and stats related to homelessness.

Category Tags / Keywords:  homelessness, hunger, displaced, poverty, unemployed, abuse

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Homelessness Stats

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Number of homeless people in the US  700,000 to 2 million people are homeless
Demographic make-up of the homeless population  Single men 44 percent of the homeless, single women 13 percent, families with children 36 percent, and unaccompanied minors seven percent (7%).
Racial breakdown of homeless population  50 percent African-American, 35 percent white, 12 percent Hispanic, 2 percent Native American and 1 percent Asian
Average Income for a homeless individual  Average income of $348 during the last 30 days, about 51 percent of the 1996 federal poverty level of $680/month for one person.
% of homeless that do not get enough to eat versus the average poor American adult  28% of adults said they sometimes or often do not get enough to eat, compared with 12% of poor American adults.
% of homeless that did paid work during the past month  44 percent did paid work during the past month.
% of homeless that have problems with alcohol, drug abuse, or mental illness  66 percent of the homeless have problems with alcohol, drug abuse, or mental illness.
% of homeless persons that have been sexually assaulted  7 percent have been sexually assaulted.
% of homeless that have been homeless for more than two (2) years  30 percent have been homeless for more than two years.
Number or people and children who experience homelessness in a given year  3.5 million people (1.35 million of which are children) will experience homelessness in a given year
% of homeless population under the age of 18 and under the age of five (5)  Children under the age of 18 account for 39% of the homeless population. 42% of these are under the age of 5
% of homeless population that are women  43% of the homeless population are women
% of homeless women that are unaccompanied / have no partner  40% of homeless women are unaccompanied / have no partner
% of homeless women claim to have been abused within the past year.  25% of homeless women claim to have been abused within the past year.
% of homeless women who claim domestic abuse as the reason for their homelessness  22% of homeless women claim domestic abuse as reason for their homelessness
% of homeless population that are families with children  33% of the homeless population.
Ratio of homeless persons that have a severe or persistent mental illness  1 in every 5 homeless persons has a severe or persistent mental illness.
% of homeless population that are Veterans / Vets  Vets constitute 40% of the homeless population.
% of homeless persons nationwide that are employed  25% of the homeless nationwide are employed
Estimates of homeless persons per night and per Year in the US  700,000 per night; 2 million/year.
Number of Americans who now live in hunger or on the edge of hunger.   31 million Americans now live in hunger or on the edge of hunger.
Ratio of people in a soup kitchen line who are children  One in five people in a soup kitchen line is a child.
Number of American children who were hungry or at risk of hunger in 1999.  Approximately 12 million American children were hungry or at risk of hunger.
Largest and fastest growing segment of the homeless population.  Families are the largest and fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
Number of families who are lodging nightly in city shelters in New York City .  6,252 families with a total of 20, 655 members are lodging nightly in city shelters, with rapid increase.
In 2000, increase in requests for emergency food assistance from families with children.  Requests for emergency food assistance from families with children increased by 16% in American cities over the past year, the highest rate of increase since the recession of 1991.
Number of children in the U.S. who live in poverty. The U.S. child poverty rate is higher than that of most other industrialized nations.  Nearly 1 in 5 children (more than 12 million) in the U.S. live in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 2000 Update). The U.S. child poverty rate is higher than that of most other industrialized nations.
In 1999, number of all food stamp recipients who were children.  More than half of all food stamp recipients, 9.3 million people were children (Children's Defense Fund, Poverty Matters: The Cost of Child Poverty in America, 2000).
Number of children in the U.S. who live in working poor families.  Nearly 9 million children in the U.S. live in working poor families (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Poverty Despite Work Handbook, 1999).
The homeless population racial break-down / make-up in 1998.  49% African-American, 32% Caucasian, 12% Hispanic, 4% Native American, and 3% Asian.
% of cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors that identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness  46% of cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness.
% of homeless men who have served in the armed forces.  40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces, as compared to 34% of the general adult male population.
% of the single adult homeless population that suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness.  Approximately 20-25% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness.
% of homeless persons who have mental illness that require institutionalization.  5-7% of homeless persons with mental illness require institutionalization; most can live in the community with the appropriate supportive housing options.


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