The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released a report on homelessness that estimates more than 754,000 people – or less than 0.3 percent of the United States population – were homeless at any one point in January 2005. The Charlotte Observer recently wrote that local homeless advocates say the HUD’s numbers for Charlotte are off, and the national numbers are lower than many previous calculations during similar periods. Homeless advocates nationally already have complained that the federal budget is shortchanging them. This is the first time since 1984 that HUD has reported the number of homeless people in the United States. I hear a lot of people say that Charlotte really needs to consider how it helps homeless folks. (Full disclosure: I sort mail occasionally at the Urban Ministry Center).

See the report here.

More resources about homelessness:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Mental Health Information Center

National Alliance to End Homelessness