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As of 2024, there were an estimated 771,000 homeless people in the United States, but there may be many more. This was an increase of more than 18% from 2023. On a trip through mostly any major U.S. city, the homeless are highly visible. Whether they are living under bridges or have taken root in one of the many tent cities that have been erected, the problem is difficult to ignore. There are several factors that contribute to homelessness. Among them are mental issues, alcohol and drug problems, criminal records, housing affordability, economic inequality, and even fires and natural disasters. There doesn't seem to be many resources available for those faced with homelessness. As one of the largest non-profit organizations in the country, the United Way was able to successfully petition the Federal Communications Commission to designate "211" for health and human services information referral. However, people are often directed to temporary housing with no vacancy, informed about programs that aren't viable, or they get the run-around. According to The Salvation Army, headquartered in London, United Kingdom, 11.6% of people were living in poverty in 2021. We took the liberty of visiting their website, salvationarmyusa.org , and we followed their link for "I Need Help" and clicked on "Homelessness." We put in a zip code but got no results. Their link to donate did work fine, though. The Covenant House is a facility that mainly helps kids, not adults. There was, or still may be, an Emergency Housing Voucher program made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided financial aid to help the economy recover from Covid-19... Click Here.
Through this program, HUD made 70,000 vouchers available to local public housing authorities to assist individuals and families that met certain criteria. However, migrants that were bused to Chicago from Texas really had no need to qualify for government assistance. The city of Chicago alone spent nearly half a billion dollars supporting upwards of 40,000 illegal immigrants, or asylum seekers, to the dismay of many residents who were upset because tax increases were proposed to offset the costs. The same funds didn't seem to be available for the homeless population of the same city, the majority of which, if not all, are U.S. citizens. Chicago is currently facing a homelessness crisis.