The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress: Part 2, Estimates of Homelessness in the United States

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
School of Social Policy and Practice::Departmental Papers (SPP)
Degree type
Discipline
Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Urban Studies and Planning
Urban, Community and Regional Planning
Subject
Homelessness Population Estimation
Demographic Composition and Trends
homelessness
population estimation
Funder
Grant number
Copyright date
2020
Distributor
Related resources
Contributor
Henry, Megan
Mahathey, Anna
Takashima, Meghan
Khadduri, Jill
Abstract

Part 2 of the 2018 AHAR builds on the Part 1 report by presenting estimates of people experiencing sheltered homelessness at any point over the course of a year, based on data from HMIS. The HMIS estimates provide information on demographics and patterns of shelter use of people who use the nation’s emergency shelters, safe havens, and transitional housing programs. The report also provides demographic information about people who transitioned from homelessness—either sheltered or unsheltered—to permanent supportive housing (PSH) and rapid rehousing (RRH) during this same one-year period.

Key Findings:

• In 2018, an estimated 1,446,000 people in the U.S. experienced sheltered homelessness at some point during the year. • Nearly two-thirds were in households with only adults. Thirty-five percent of people who experienced homelessness were in families with children. A small share (only one percent) were in child-only households. • Black or African American people were considerably overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness. While representing 13 percent of all U.S. heads of households and 22 percent of heads of households living in poverty, people identifying as black accounted for 43 percent of heads of sheltered households in 2018. • Nearly one in five heads of households and other adults using shelters had a chronic pattern of homelessness (18%). One in every ten sheltered adults was a veteran.

Advisor
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2020-09
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Recommended citation
Collection