Homelessness Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many people are homeless in Baltimore/Maryland?
A: At least 3,000 people will experience homelessness on any given night in Baltimore – more than 30,000 over the course of a year. Statewide, more than 50,000 Marylanders are homeless annually. Most estimates derive from a bi-annual census, emergency and transitional shelter data, and the numbers of those turned away from shelter. The actual numbers most likely are much higher. Maryland’s Office of Transitional Services publishes an annual report of those served in (and turned away from) emergency and transitional shelters by jurisdiction: www.dhr.state.md.us/transit/pdf/ann2007.pdf. Click here for the 2009 Baltimore City Census.
Q: How many people are homeless nationally?
A: While it is a complex undertaking to arrive at an accurate estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness nationally, perhaps the most reliable figure derives from a study conducted by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (2004) suggesting that at least 3.5 million people – 1.35 million of them children – will experience homelessness in a given year in the United States. Early research on homelessness suggests that 7% of Americans experience homelessness within their lifetimes. The National Coalition for the Homeless publishes a more thorough analysis of the challenges involved with arriving at an actual number. Find it under “publications” at www.nationalhomeless.org.
Q: What are the causes of homelessness?
A: Homelessness is fundamentally a problem of poverty, the lack of affordable housing, and restricted access to health care services. Resolving homelessness involves addressing both the immediate needs of the individual experiencing it and changing the social structures responsible for homelessness in the first place – by ensuring the availability of health insurance, affordable housing, “living” wages, and sufficient disability assistance for those unable to work. HCH does both by integrating direct services and advocacy.
Q: What is the relationship between homelessness and health?
A: The experience of homelessness causes health problems (frostbite and hypothermia from the cold, communicable diseases from crowded shelter conditions), exacerbates existing illnesses (cuts lead to infection, frostbite result in amputation or even death), and seriously complicates treatment (medications are lost or stolen, lack of transportation to access health providers, lack of health insurance). People who are homeless are sicker and die earlier than those who are housed. A report conducted for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council found that people experiencing homelessness are three-to-four times more likely to die prematurely than their housed counterparts. For the complete study, visit: http://www.nhchc.org/PrematureMortalityFinal.pdf.