Black Americans Disproportionately Impacted As Homelessness Rates Soar To Record Highs In 2023

New York accounted for the highest increase in homelessness for the year.

Black Americans are facing more trouble as homelessness rates rise across the country. A new study has revealed that the demographic was disproportionately impacted as homelessness rates reach their highest levels this year.

The annual homelessness assessment report detailed an 12% increase in the unhoused population for 2023, the highest year-to-year spike since the report was enacted in 2007. FOX News confirmed that over half a million people each night are forced to sleep outside or in shelters due to lacking housing, 653,100 individuals to be exact.

These results are especially staggering, as the two-year rise in homelessness from 2020 to 2022 was less than 1%, exposing a considerable shift in the U.S. economy and housing market that helped spike this statistic. The executive director of the U.S. Interagency on Homelessness, Jeff Olivet, confirmed these two factors are major causes for the rise.

“The most significant causes are the shortage of affordable homes and the high cost of housing that have left many Americans living paycheck to paycheck and one crisis away from homelessness,” explained the government official.

As for the Black Americans part of the growing number, they represent 37% of unhoused people. Black families hold an even bigger portion of this population, being exactly half of all families suffering from homelessness.

People of color were the most impacted in several newly-released statistics regarding America’s homelessness rates, as the diverse state of California was marked for having the majority of unhoused people in their state, making up just over half of the homelessness population. The western state is known for Skid Row, a significant homeless encampment with a large majority of Black people within its domain, according to the data by the Los Angeles Homeless Services.

However, New York accounted for the highest increase in homelessness for the year, with a 39.1% jump for this disadvantaged group. It is another state with a high demographic of Black residents, including being 23.1% of New York City’s population, as confirmed by the U.S. Census. As homelessness rises across the nation, its rise amidst the Black U.S. population is disproportionately felt across all aspects.