OKLAHOMA CITY — The number of unsheltered homeless Americans has grown, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Nationwide, an estimated 582,000 people were considered homeless last year; that constituted approximately 18 per 10,000 people, HUD said. “However, the counting process is difficult; this total could be an undercount,” the agency noted.
Military veterans experience homelessness at higher rates than the overall population, HUD reported: 20 of every 10,000 veterans. One-fourth of all homeless people are identified as Hispanic. A little over 60% of all homeless Americans are male, HUD reported.
Sheltered homelessness declined over the past decade but unsheltered homelessness rose, research shows.
Unsheltered homeless people live outdoors, in cars, in abandoned buildings, beneath street and highway overpasses, or in other places not suitable for human habitation, HUD reported.
Sheltered homeless persons are staying in domestic violence shelters, transitional shelters, safe havens that serve homeless individuals with severe mental illness, or hotels/motels.