Government Won’t End Homelessness By Its 2015 Goal

Chronic and veteran homelessness remained the same over the last year, HUD says

Despite valiant efforts, the U.S. government will not reach its 2015 goal of ending homelessness among military vets and the chronically homeless in the general population, according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development report released on Monday. In its annual report to Congress, HUD said that the overall level of homelessness remained the same from 2011 to 2012. However, the number of homeless families increased slightly. The number of chronically homeless people – usually those who are in need of mental and physical health services – fell about 7 percent in 2011 and fell more than 19 percent since 2007. Veteran homelessness declined more than 7 percent last year, down 17 percent since 2009. Experts worry that homelessness may increase among the most vulnerable groups, due to dried up emergency stimulus financing. Mark Johnston, the acting assistant federal jousting secretary at HUD, estimates tat homelessness cold be eradicated in the U.S. at an annual cost of $20 billion. The current budget is about $1.9 billion. (New York Times)

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