Homelessness has reached historic levels across the US and is not a simple issue to solve. The false belief that homelessness is a personal failure implies people living on the street have done something wrong to cause their misfortune. The data proves otherwise. Surveys show economic factors — such as losing employment and rising housing costs including rentals — are the leading cause of homelessness from urban to rural areas and additional factors include domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness, and youth aging out of foster care. In his book, Homelessness is a Housing Problem, Gregg Colburn illustrates the link between regional housing market conditions and rates of homelessness. Undersupply of housing, high rents, and low vacancy rates are the underlying drivers of homelessness.

According to the 2023 Wake County Annual Housing Report, half of all low-income households pay more than 50% of their income on housing-related costs making them severely cost-burdened. For instance, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Wake County is $1650, a 17% increase over 2023. This is unaffordable for individuals earning less than $27 an hour. But can’t they get rental assistance? According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, federal rental assistance has consistently only reached about 1 in 4 eligible households due to underfunding. Rental assistance, such as housing vouchers, provides long-term stability because it covers the gap between what people can afford to pay toward housing costs — around 30 percent of their income — and the actual cost of rent. It adjusts as incomes and rent prices change. While funding for the voucher program has risen in most years, the program isn’t keeping pace with the number of individuals who need the vouchers.

In the absence of assistance and rising food costs, millions of people with low incomes scrape by each month and frequently face eviction, causing moves that disrupt their lives. About 8.53 million low-income renter households in the U.S. pay more than half their income on rent, live in poor-quality housing, or both. Hundreds of thousands of people are forced into homelessness each year.

The 2023 annual one-night count of unsheltered homelessness offers the following facts about individuals experiencing homelessness in North Carolina:

• People of color are overrepresented. Homelessness is a racial justice issue. Historical and contemporary discrimination and exclusion from housing, education, employment, and wealth-building have excluded Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) from financial resources and housing opportunities.

• The majority of people experiencing homelessness are men, and homelessness is growing among women and gender-expansive people.

• The number of disabled people experiencing long-term or recurring homelessness is increasing.

• Adults over 50 years old experiencing homelessness are the fastest-growing age demographic.

• Homelessness among families and youth is creeping up again.

• The number of veterans experiencing homelessness has increased by 7 percent between 2022 and 2023.

• Individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness-sleeping in places not designed for regular accommodation like abandoned buildings or tents- is rising.