One statistic we found says homelessness has gone up 6% since 2017. To look at some of the city streets and neighborhoods of cities like Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, a lot of people will take exception to that figure and say it’s too low.
Whether that number is low or high doesn’t matter as much as the seriousness of the problem. What really matters is the knowledge that homelessness in most areas of the West is increasing. Also increasing is local governments unable to wrap their collective heads around what to do about the problem.
On any single night in 2022 — the last time anyone did a homeless head count — an estimated 582,462 people had no place to live. About 60% of that 582,462 were able to find shelter for the night. The other 40% ended up sleeping on the streets or in abandoned buildings, or in city parks, sports fields or wooded areas.
Sadly, and dangerously, people sheltering in abandoned buildings and in parts is on the rise. On almost any night fire alarms will ring in cities around the country because of fires set in the abandoned buildings as homeless people seek to keep warm or to cook.
And that leads to insurance issues.
Five states in the nine PIA Western Alliance states are in the top 10 for the highest number of homeless people per 100,000 without shelter. They are California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Nevada.
Four other PIA Western Alliance states are in the top 25 and Idaho barely missed 25 and sits at 26.
Here are the numbers:
1. California
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 43.7
Total number of homeless in 2022: 171,521
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 67.3%
2. Vermont
3. Oregon
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 42.3
Total number of homeless in 2022: 17,959
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 98.4%
4. Hawaii
5. New York
6. Washington
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 32.6
Total number of homeless in 2022: 25,211
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 50.2
7. Maine
8. Alaska
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 31.7
Total number of homeless in 2022: 2,320
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 15.4
9. Nevada
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 24.2
Total number of homeless in 2022: 7,618
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 46.8
10. Delaware
12. Arizona
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 18.6
Total number of homeless in 2022: 13,553
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 40.8
17. Montana
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 14.4
Total number of homeless in 2022: 1,585
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 18.5
20. New Mexico
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 12.1
Total number of homeless in 2022: 2,560
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 21.6
26. Idaho
Number of homeless people per 100,000 residents in 2022: 10.5
Total number of homeless in 2022: 1,998
Homeless population without shelter in 2022: 44.4
Source link: Center Square — https://bit.ly/3seDASR
