Homelessness (racial and ethnic relations)
Homelessness, particularly in the context of racial and ethnic relations, is a multifaceted social issue that affects a diverse array of individuals and families. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness is defined as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. On a single night in 2015, over 560,000 people in the United States experienced homelessness, with a notable percentage of the sheltered homeless population being African American. This issue is closely linked to broader societal factors, including economic crises, public policy ideologies, and historical perceptions of homelessness, often focusing on stereotypes that overlook the reality of homeless children, women, and families.
The hidden homeless, often found in rural areas or less visible urban settings, represent another dimension of this crisis, as many attempt to evade societal scrutiny while facing severe hardships. Despite the existence of various public and private support systems, such as shelters and food programs, many homeless individuals remain vulnerable to harsh conditions, societal stigma, and criminalization. The growing prevalence of homelessness reflects deep-rooted economic disparities and often results in a permanent underclass of marginalized individuals, many of whom are women and children. Understanding homelessness through the lens of racial and ethnic relations reveals the complexity of the issue and the need for compassionate, inclusive approaches to address these systemic challenges.
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Homelessness (racial and ethnic relations)
According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), "literal homelessness" refers to "a person who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." According to HUD's 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, on a single night in 2023, more than 653,000 people in the United States experienced homelessness. Around 20 percent of these individuals were over fifty-five, and nearly 35,000 were individuals under twenty-five classified as "unaccompanied youth." The HUD's report also noted that people identifying as Black, African American, African, Native American, or Pacific Islander made up the majority of the unhoused population, continuing the historic trend.
The social problem of homelessness has historically revolved around the way specific societal groups and class interests have defined the social issue. Generally, public policies in the United States regarding homelessness and the shortage of low-income or subsidized housing in America are influenced by and inseparable from local and national politics. Moreover, economic crises and considerations grounded in the ideological perspectives of laissez-faire, free-market capitalism, and liberal social reformism are also at work. While most people do not overtly blame individuals experiencing homelessness for their living situation, they still support a public policy ideology that fails to alter the victimizing conditions that result in individuals becoming unhoused.
Individuals experiencing homelessness have often been stereotyped as middle-aged men or older adult eccentric “shopping-bag ladies” rather than as children, mothers, and families. When most people think about individuals experiencing homelessness, they often overlook the population of teenagers who have run away from home and lack financial resources and marketable skills to gain employment. Children who have been abused or neglected, victims of domestic violence, and veterans or other individuals experiencing a mental health crisis are also often overlooked. These individuals may have to engage in sex work or sleep in abandoned buildings without heat, electricity, and running water to survive. Some mothers experiencing homelessness may exchange sexual services for shelter rather than seek formal shelter opportunities because of the risk of losing their children to foster care.
Although about 60 percent of individuals experiencing homelessness are in urban areas, camping near downtown shelters, or requesting aid at freeway offramps, there is also a less obvious group, the hidden homeless living in rural America. Individuals experiencing homelessness in rural areas try to avoid the attention of local citizens and police, who may arrest them for trespassing, squatting, panhandling, littering, or merely trying to feed themselves. If they are fortunate, they sleep in cars and trucks; if not, they sleep at rest stops, all-night truck stops, plowed fields, or the side of the road.
In many more communities, including medium-sized cities as well as urbanized metropolitan areas, most individuals experiencing homelessness remain hidden or at least relatively invisible. Most urban individuals experiencing homelessness are warehoused out of sight in abandoned armories, terminals, or motels. This results from governmental assistance programs and the private efforts of concerned citizens and groups, especially of church-related assistance.
Individuals who identify as Latino and Hispanic have historically experienced a low rate of homelessness. However, between 2015 and 2023, the percentage of Hispanic and Latino Americans experiencing homelessness increased by 59 percent, compared to 16 percent for the entire American population. Asian Americans, who historically represent a low percentage of unhoused individuals, also experienced a significant increase between 2022 and 2023, rising 40 percent. Conversely, Black Americans are historically overrepresented in the population of individuals experiencing homelessness. Generally, Black Americans make up around half of all unhoused individuals with children. Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives have historically had the highest rates of unhoused individuals of any ethnic or racial group.
Programs and Policies
Temporary or emergency governmental assistance is available through several agencies. Additionally, public and private armories and shelters provide protection for specific groups at night—some for whole families, couples only, single women, or victims of domestic violence. There are also various secular and religious efforts to provide individuals experiencing homelessness, hunger, or extreme poverty with day shelters, soup kitchens, clothes closets, and food pantries. A few notable private nonprofit secular programs include the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children, the Birmingham Partnership Assistance to the Homeless, and the Shelterhouse (formerly the Cincinnati’s Alcoholic Drop Inn Center Shelterhouse).
Various policies and programs have been proposed as possible solutions to the continued racial inequality among unhoused individuals. In 2023, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness and HUD received $5 billion to address America's housing crisis. Some indicate that federal incentives that reduce zoning law restrictions could help create affordable housing for all individuals. Despite programs and other services, such as city policies that require the police to pick up homeless individuals and drive them to one of the nearby community shelters on nights when the temperature drops below freezing, hundreds of Americans still freeze to death every winter. Even in the most caring and compassionate urban communities, eventually, those found sleeping in doorways, metal trash receptacles, or homemade cardboard shelters become invisible.
Bibliography
"Category 1: Literally Homeless." US Department of Housing and Urban Development, www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/coc-esg-virtual-binders/coc-esg-homeless-eligibility/four-categories/category-1. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
Barak, Gregg. Gimme Shelter: A Social History of Homelessness in Contemporary America. Praeger, 1991.
Golden, Stephanie. The Women Outside: Meanings and Myths of Homelessness. U of California P, 1992.
"Homelessness and Racial Disparities." National Alliance to End Homelessness, Dec. 2023, endhomelessness.org/blog/examining-latino-homelessness. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
Orejuela, Andres. "Examining Latino Homelessness." National Alliance to End Homelessness, 11 Oct. 2024, endhomelessness.org/blog/examining-latino-homelessness. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
Polakow, Valerie. Lives on the Edge: Single Mothers and Their Children in the Other America. U of Chicago P, 1993.
Rossi, Peter H. Down and Out in America: The Origins of Homelessness. U of Chicago P, 1989.
Snow, David A., and Leon Anderson. Down on Their Luck: A Study of Homeless Street People. U of California P, 1993.
"The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR to Congress) Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness, December 2023." US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.