Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

On a single night in 2016, 549,928 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States. A majority (68%) was staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or safe havens, and 32 percent were in unsheltered locations.  Over one-fifth of people experiencing homelessness were children (22%), 69 percent

were over the age of 24, and nine percent were between the ages of 18 and 24. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of people experiencing homelessness declined by three percent. Declines were composed entirely of

people staying in sheltered locations (which declined by 5%).  Homelessness increased among people staying in unsheltered locations …

Since 2007, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has released an annual report on the extent of homelessness in the United States—the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR). The report documents how many people are experiencing sheltered homelessness and how many people are experiencing homelessness in unsheltered locations often referred to as “the street.” The AHAR is submitted each year to the U.S. Congress, and its contents are used to inform federal, state, and local policies to prevent and end homelessness.

This report is the second part of a two-part series. The first part is called The 2015 Annual …