If You Know Someone Who Is Homeless...

If you know someone who is homeless, help is available! HUD, along with many other federal agencies, funds programs to help the homeless. These programs are managed by local organizations that provide a range of services, including shelter, food, counseling, and jobs skills programs. So start by contacting a homeless assistance agency in your area.

The Los Angeles region is thought to have the largest concentration of homeless persons in the country and is considered one of if not the homelessness capital of the USA.In its biannual census of 2009, the County counted more than 48,000 homeless persons living in the county at any given night.One hundred thousands persons are expected to be homeless at least one night during the year. A 50-block area in downtown Los Angeles called Skid Row (5,131) has a homeless population nearly as large as the homeless population of San Francisco (5,823). Hollywood and the city of Santa Monica also suffer from visible homelessness. Los Angeles, of course, has approximately 10 times the population of San Francisco,^[so proportionately, San Francisco has a greater population of homeless persons.

In 2009, the author Geoffrey Neil wrote a novel, Dire Means, whose underlying premise was about the homeless situation in Santa Monica, California.

San Francisco

The city of San Francisco, California, due to its mild climate and its social programs that have provided cash payments for homeless individuals, is often considered the homelessness capital of the United States. The city's homeless population has been estimated at 7,000-10,000 people, of which approximately 3,000-5,000 refuse shelter. The city spends $200 million a year on homelessness related programs. It is believed that New York, despite a population 10 times larger, has only few hundred more chronically homeless individuals. On May 3, 2004, San Francisco officially began an attempt to scale back the scope of its homelessness problem by changing its strategy from cash payments to the "Care Not Cash" plan. At the same time, grassroots organizations within the Bay Area such as the Suitcase Clinic work to provide referrals for housing and employment to the homeless population. In 2010, a city ordinance was passed which will disallow sitting and lying down on public sidewalks for most of the day, from 7am until 11pm.

Chicago

The city of Chicago, Illinois is also noted for its number of homeless people. Over the years, Chicago has gained a reputation as the city with the most homeless people, rivaling Los Angeles and New York, although no statistical data has backed this up. The reputation stems primarily from the subjective number of beggars found on the streets rather than any sort of objective statistical census data. Indeed, from statistical data, Chicago has far less homeless per capita than peers New York, and Los Angeles, or other major cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston, among others, with only 5,922 homeless recorded in a one night count taken in 2007.

Denver, Colorado

In Denver, Colorado, Mayor John Hickenlooper has made dealing with the issues that underlie homelessness a top priority on his Mayoral agenda, speaking heavily on the issue during his first "State of the City" address in 2003. While Denver's homeless population is much lower than other major cities, the homeless residents have often suffered when without shelter during Denver's infamously cold winters.

Indianapolis, Indiana

In  Indianapolis, Indiana, as many as 2,200 people are homeless on any given night, and as many as 15,000 individuals over the course of a year. Indianapolis is notable among cities of similar size for having only faith-based shelters, such as the century-old  Wheeler Mission. In 2001, Mayor Bart Peterson endorsed a 10-year plan, called the Blueprint to End Homelessness, and made it one of his administration's top priorities. The plan's main goals are for more affordable housing units, employment opportunities, and support services. The Blueprint notwithstanding, Indianapolis has criminalized aspects of homelessness, such as making panhandling a misdemeanor; and the City-County Council has twice (in April, 2002, and August, 2005) denied the zoning necessary to open a new shelter for homeless women.

San Antonio, Texas

The city of San Antonio, Texas also has an abundance of homeless people. This was spoofed in the South Park episode, Night of the Living Homeless, saying that homeless people came from San Antonio. In the episode, they were eventually sent to California, citing that Californians are "good to the homeless".

Camillian social center in Rayong

The Center provides shelter and care to homeless, indigent, and ... Special emphasis is placed on women and children, as the most vulnerable ...

Perhaps the most accurate, comprehensive, and current data on homelessness in the United States is reported annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR). The AHAR report relies on data from two sources: single-night, point-in-time counts of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations reported on the Continuum of Care applications to HUD; and counts of the sheltered homeless population over a full year provided by a sample of communities based on data in their local Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS).

  Causes

"In 2004 the United States Conference of Mayors... surveyed the mayors of major cities on the extent and causes of urban homelessness and most of the mayors named the lack of affordable housing as a cause of homelessness.... The next three causes identified by mayors, in rank order, were mental illness or the lack of needed services, substance abuse and lack of needed services, and low-paying jobs. The lowest ranking cause, cited by five mayors, was prisoner reentry. Other causes cited were unemployment, domestic violence, and poverty."

    Women And Children Homeless

The fastest-growing group of homeless people in the United States is composed of single women with two or three children. Before the 1980s the homeless population was mostly composed of men.

Within the last two decades, US society has begun to acknowledge the growing numbers of homeless women and children. Homeless women are rarely seen because they often find shelter with relatives, friends, or other homeless women. The majority of homeless women are on the streets because of divorce or escaping domestic abuse. Abandonment is also a key contributor to homelessness in women.