Federal Perspectives on Unsheltered Homelessness

1. Federal Perspectives on Unsheltered Homelessness Abbilyn Miller, PhD Policy and Data Analyst Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, HUD

2. National Scale • 2016 PIT Count data shows that: • Nearly 550,000 people experience homelessness on any given day • Approximately 176,000 people were staying in unsheltered locations • 89% of those in unsheltered locations were individuals not in families

3. National Progress • BUT community reporting on 2017 PIT Count data shows rise in unsheltered homelessness

4. Where do people live unsheltered?

5. Characteristics of unsheltered homelessness • More likely than sheltered households to have: • History of military service, incarceration or foster care • Reported use of drugs and alcohol • Less education • Use of informal income sources • Longer durations of homelessness (5+ years) • Higher rates of almost all high risk conditions measured by the Vulnerability Index • Demographically, more likely to be male and white or other/mixed race

6. Risk and Protective factors • Risk Factors • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender persons, especially youth, are at greater risk of homelessness and unsheltered homelessness, as well as sexual exploitation once on the streets • Persons with sex offenses are at greater risk of unsheltered homelessness • Protective Factors • For women, a few factors have been identified as being potentially protective against living unsheltered: • Access to entitlement-based income • Substance use treatment

7. Decreasing Unsheltered Homelessness • All crisis response engagements emphasize: • Personal strengths • Maintenance and development of positive identity • Personal choice

8. Components of an effective crisis response system • Follows a low-barrier, housing first approach • Is housing focused (including Street outreach) • Promotes “flow” through the system • People are diverted from homelessness whenever possible • Prioritizes most expensive interventions for those with the longest histories of homelessness and the most severe needs • Use of the new joint component: TH-RRH

9. Challenges for the Field • Incorporating consumer perspectives and using lived experience as a valid form of policy creation and program design • Reframing people living unsheltered as people with legitimate unmet needs • Taking steps to make family shelter and individual shelter services more comparable and housing focused • Incorporating robust acknowledgement of privacy needs in design and planning of crisis response system