02/13/2019 - Homeless in America: Examining the Crisis and Solutions to End Home... (EventID=108894)

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Wednesday, February 13, 2019 (10:00 AM) -- Committee on Financial Services Hearing: “Homeless in America: Examining the Crisis and Solutions to End Homelessness” Connect with the House Financial Services Committee Get the latest news: https://financialservices.house.gov/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinancialDems/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FSCDems ______________ This will be a one-panel hearing with the following witnesses: • Ann Marie Oliva, Senior Policy Advisor, Corporation for Supportive Housing • Nan Roman, President and CEO, National Alliance to end Homelessness • Joshua Stewart, Director of Policy, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans • Justin T. Rush, Public Policy Director, True Colors Fund • Carolyn Darley, Speaker Advocate, National Coalition for the Homelessness • David S. Lucas, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University Purpose This hearing will allow Members to hear from witnesses about the continuing challenges of ending homelessness in America, and their recommendations for legislation to help overcome those challenges. The State of Homelessness in America Each year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, which provides the best available estimates ofbthe homeless population in the United States. The AHAR conveys data collected through Point-inTime (PIT) counts, which are conducted locally every year in January. According to the 2018 AHAR, there were 552,830 people experiencing homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2018. This represents a 0.3 percent increase since the prior year and it is the second year in a row of increases in homelessness despite an overall 13.2 percent decline in homelessness since 2010. While the increase in people experiencing homelessness between 2016 and 2017 was driven by increases in major city Continuum of Care (CoC) jurisdictions, between 2017 and 2018, smaller urban and suburban CoC jurisdictions experienced increases. Rural CoC jurisdictions remained largely unchanged over this timeframe. 50 percent of all persons experiencing homelessness live in major city CoC jurisdictions, and one of every five people experiencing homelessness live in New York City or Los Angeles CoC jurisdictions. The AHAR also provides details on the demographics of the people experiencing homelessness. In 2018, nearly 160,000 children and youth experienced homelessness, representing nearly 30 percent of the total, and over 216,000 women and girls experienced homelessness, or 40 percent of the total. Nearly 38,000 veterans experienced homelessness in 2018, or 9 percent of the total. Racial minorities were disproportionately represented among people experiencing homelessness in 2018. African Americans comprised 40 percent of all people experiencing homelessness, despite making up only 13 percent of the nation’s general population, and Hispanic or Latino people comprised 25 percent of the total, despite making up only 18 percent of the nation’s general population. The AHAR also shows that more progress has been made in reducing homelessness among some subpopulations than others. For example, the greatest progress in reducing homelessness has been among veterans due in large part to increased funding for this population. Specifically, funding for programs targeted to VA homeless veterans from $376 million in FY 2009 to more than $1.5 billion in FY 2017(an increase of more than 300%). Over the same time period the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has been cut nearly in half. By comparison, funding for HUD homeless assistance grants has increased from $1.7 billion in FY 2009 to $2.3 billion in FY 2017 (an increase of 42 percent). Over the same period of time, there has been a 25 percent decline in homelessness among families, youth, and children, including a more recent 2 percent decrease between 2017 and 2018. While there has also been a 16 percent decrease in people experiencing chronic homelessness since 2010, there has been a more recent 2 percent increase between 2017 and 2018.