Now Available: The 2024 edition of “The Advocates’ Guide: A Primer on Federal Programs and Resources Related to Affordable Housing and Community Development!”
Important info for those helping the unhoused!
The 2024 edition of “The Advocates’ Guide: A Primer on Federal Programs and Resources Related to Affordable Housing and Community Development” is now available! It comes out every year and is a great resource designed for advocates and others involved in affordable housing and community development advocacy (Advocates’ Guide | National Low Income Housing Coalition (nlihc.org)).
The Advocates’ Guide is written by leading experts in the affordable housing and community development field with the goal of teaching advocates (helpers, counselors, caseworkers, researchers, and others) about the programs and policies that are meant to make housing more affordable to low-income people across America.
As StreetSense has as a main goal the work of helping social workers, counselors, street helpers, researchers, educators, public health personnel and others to better understand the needs of the homeless, we share information and resources. This guide is particularly useful for informing professionals and others about the simple reality of need out there. And about the complexity of the problem: each person has their own needs. There are thousands of different needs, therefore, if there are thousands of different persons you are trying to reach.
Each homeless person is an individual. Each has a story. They have come to living outdoors or in a shelter or in somebody’s garage for very different reasons. They come from all walks of life. Their time being homeless could be a month. Or six months. Or six years.
With the paucity of affordable housing readily available to many Chicago residents (and dwellers in other cities for that matter) many people must sleep on the sidewalk. Taxpayers know this, and they generally accept it. And ignore it, in most cases. Is finding an affordable place to live that difficult?
Housing challenges are an ongoing and growing issue in Chicago and other cities in the United States and abroad. Note that in the city of great wind in 2019 there were over 58,000 homeless. That was before COVID-19 hit, and the number now would be over 60,000 (Homeless-Estimate-2021_FINAL.pdf (chicagohomeless.org)).
WGN of Chicago reports that “A total of more than 36,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago from 822 busses since Aug. 2022, but only three busses have arrived from Texas since Feb. 17” (As number of migrants awaiting placement dwindles, City closes, repurposes shelters (wgntv.com)).
By their nature, migrants are technically homeless. They bring no home with them.
(Editor’s note: the figure of 36,000 is in addition to the homeless already in Chicago.)
How does Chicago compare to other cities? Is this the only city with a large number of people with no roof? No, it is not. Note that in Los Angeles County, estimates have risen to over 75,000 persons (LAHSA Releases Results Of 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count).
Estimates of unhoused persons in Seattle have risen to well over 40,000 in the last few years (WA’s homeless population is increasing, new HUD report shows | The Seattle Times).
In New York City, there are more people homeless, many living in shelters. According to the Coalition for the Homeless “In November 2023, there were 92,824 homeless people, including 33,365 homeless children, sleeping each night in New York City’s main municipal shelter system. A total of 23,945 single adults slept in shelters each night in November 2023”
(Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City - Coalition For The Homeless).
Interesting to note is that “Black and Hispanic/Latinx New Yorkers are disproportionately affected by homelessness” (Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City - Coalition For The Homeless).
In Chicago, also, the largest percentage of homeless persons is Black—almost 80 percent, in fact. This has important implications. Culturally, politically, and spiritually. This also has important implications for public health programs.
Luckily, there are helpful resources such as the new edition of The Advocates’ Guide!
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For further reading, please see:
Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City - Coalition For The Homeless
Homeless-Estimate-2021_FINAL.pdf (chicagohomeless.org)
LAHSA Releases Results Of 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count
Advocates’ Guide | National Low Income Housing Coalition (nlihc.org)
As number of migrants awaiting placement dwindles, City closes, repurposes shelters (wgntv.com)
WA’s homeless population is increasing, new HUD report shows | The Seattle Times