Homelessness rose in the U.S. after pandemic aid dried up
Two years after pandemic aid ended, homelessness in cities and states across the U.S. is on the rise.
Organizations that count homeless people have seen increases in the number of unsheltered individuals compared with 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Roughly 421,400 people were homeless in the U.S. last year, and 127,750 of them were chronically homeless, meaning they didn’t have a place to stay for a year or more, according to National Alliance to End Homelessness data. Homelessness rates have been climbing nationally by about 6% every year since 2017, the alliance said.
The increase in the number of people without a place to live comes amid soaring housing costs and rising prices for essentials like food and transportation. The federal government sent $817 billion in stimulus payments to Americans, according to a New York Times estimate, but that lifeline ended in March 2021.
“There’s no cash coming in from the government anymore,” Amy Quackenboss, executive director at the American Bankruptcy Institute, told CBS MoneyWatch in February. “There are several people who haven’t been able to weather that storm.”
