Poverty in DC

On any given day throughout the Washington area, there are as many as 12,000 men, women and children experiencing homelessness.

In the District of Columbia alone, as many as 16,000 people live without a home at some point during the year-one of the highest rates in the country.

About homelessness

In the U.S., 2.3 million to 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. The federal government defines homelessness as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence; or having a primary night residency in an institution that provides temporary shelter.

The homeless are not necessarily those you see panhandling and living on the streets. While these individuals may be homeless, fewer than 11 percent of those experiencing homelessness regularly live on the streets.

Homeless Families

More than 40 percent of homeless people are families and about 1 in 4 are children. Homelessness among Washington area families has increased by 25 percent since last year, leaving over 200 families on waiting lists for emergency shelter. Currently, there are about 800 families, including 1,500 children, in city shelters, a record number.

Heroes Without Homes

About 4 in 10 homeless men are veterans. The vast majority are single, and most come from poor communities. About 47 percent of America's homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era, and more than 67% served our country for at least three years.

The Working Poor

Nearly one-third of those experiencing homelessness are employed. Many of these individuals lack a home because their income does not allow them to afford regular housing. In the District of Columbia, the average fair market rent for a two bedroom apartment is $1,288 per month. A worker earning the federal minimum wage of $7.55 would have to work almost 135 hours a week in order to afford a typical 2-bedroom apartment.

What causes homelessness?

For many low-income households, life challenges such as an illness, job loss, or domestic violence can quickly lead to homelessness. Any unexpected expenditure could push those who are poor and struggling to survive out of their homes and onto the street.

Poverty

Washington, D.C. has one of the highest proportions of low-income earners nationally. Rising costs contribute to increasing poverty, putting millions of poor Washingtonians at extreme risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness generally is not caused by just one incident; rather, it is often the result of a downward cycle that may involve a series of setbacks and the loss of a financial safety net.

Lack of Affordable Housing

In terms of housing costs, the District is the second least affordable jurisdiction in the country. The rental vacancy rate in the D.C. area is only 3.7%, compared to a national average of 5.8%, while monthly rent averages have risen.

Last year, there were more than 30,000 people on the waiting list for public housing and almost twice as many waiting for housing vouchers, including 22,000 who were without homes. Affordable units will likely decrease as over 10,000 housing units in D.C. have affordability requirements which expire by 2010.

Inadequate Health Care

Public health problems are amplified by poverty and contribute to the homelessness crisis. Many individuals who suffer from physical or mental illness lack adequate health care and the support networks to improve their health, and have become homeless as a result. For low-income individuals, the inability to get preventive care is more likely to result in a crisis.

Home Loss

Home loss very often leads to homelessness. In a national survey of homeless service and advocacy real estate agencies, 79 percent of respondents stated that at least some of their clients were homeless as a result of foreclosure, and about half estimated that more than ten percent of their clients were homeless because of a foreclosure on a home they had been occupying. RealtyTrac reported over 3 million foreclosure filings in the U.S. last year, an 81 percent jump from 2007 and a 225 percent increase from 2006.

Unemployment

Rising unemployment contributes to the poverty that often results in homelessness. The unemployment rate in Washington, D.C. has recently climbed from 6.4 percent to 10.4 percent, the highest it has been since 1980. Individuals with limited skills and homeless individuals with no phone or address stand a slim chance of competing for jobs in an already tight job market.

Domestic Violence

Battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and living without a home. In a study of 777 homeless parents (the majority of whom were mothers) in ten U.S. cities, 22 percent said they had left their last place of residence because of domestic violence.

CONCLUSION

Whatever the cause, the high rate of poverty in our city is shameful. It is also completely preventable. The Mission has always been dedicated to exploring and implementing solutions to solve homelessness in our nation's capital.

We need valuable friendships with public and private organizations like yours to meet the growing needs of Washington's most vulnerable residents, offer solutions to the social problems that confront our region, and continue to be a beacon of hope for another 125 years.