UNITED STATES—On Friday, December 27, the U.S. “Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the January 2024 Point-In-Time Count Report: The Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1 data highlights progress and challenges in addressing homelessness across the Nation, noting close to a 20 percent increase of homelessness, nationwide. The first paragraph of the report is below.

Photo Credit: Benjamin Disinger

“An annual snapshot of the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings. The report found more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase from 2023. This report reflects data collected a year ago and likely does not represent current circumstances, given changed policies and conditions.”

The number of U.S. Veterans experiencing homelessness did drop.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it has permanently housed 47,925 Veterans experiencing homelessness in FY2024 — marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since FY 2019.”

Communities who had a rise in homelessness blamed the number of asylum seekers included in their counts of unhoused individuals.

In addition, migration rose by 39 percent in 2023-2024 with 13 communities reporting a profound effect on homelessness, causing family homelessness, to more than double.

Los Angeles was one of three cities nationally that showed a five percent decrease in homelessness during 2024.

In a December 18, report, San Joaquin County showed a 156 percent increase in unsheltered individuals.

Community leaders have blamed the increase in California homelessness on the change in the way the data is collected rather than acknowledging California’s growing homeless crisis.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency multiple times and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money to no avail. California’s homelessness persists.

While the streets of California cities were littered with homeless encampments and human waste, Newsom was stumping for Vice President and Democrat nominee, Kamala Harris.

Two days after the former President, Donald J. Trump was elected in the U.S. Presidential election Newsom began initiating policies in an attempt to prevent President Trump from deporting those with criminal records living in the United States illegally.

January 2024, HUD reports indicate that 187,084 people were experiencing homelessness in California which is over 24 percent of the homeless population in the United States.