Decade’s Worth of Data Shows Trends of Homelessness, Impact of Programming
(Kurt Metzger, Feb. 5, 2023)
Oakland County, Macomb County, Wayne County, MI – Recently volunteers set out across metro Detroit to identify people experiencing homelessness. The night’s efforts were a part of the Point-in-Time count — a tally of people experiencing homelessness on one night in January.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires Continuums of Care (CoC), or programs that work to address homelessness, to conduct the count. HUD requires a count of people who don’t have shelter every other year and people who are in shelters or other transitional housing annually. The sheltered count, includes those living in shelters, transitional housing and other temporary housing programs. The count is not comprehensive of all people who are homeless, couch-surfing, living in vehicles, sheltering in abandoned buildings, or other circumstances. The count is tied to federal funding that helps pay for permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing and transitional housing.
Agency officials throughout metro Detroit are reporting increased numbers of individuals seeking shelter, and anticipate these numbers to continue to grow as pandemic-driven rental assistance and eviction prevention programs come to an end.
While we will not see final counts till mid-2023, I have put together homeless counts over the last decade plus for the tri-county area.
While Figures 1 (total homeless) and 2 (homeless children) clearly show the trends between 2010 and 2022, allow me to make a few observations regarding the trends in Oakland County.
During the first four years of the last decade, the county was averaging over 700 homeless per year. Between 2013 and 2014, the total took a significant 35 percent decrease and remained in the 400’s for the next seven years, up through the first year of the pandemic in 2020. The pandemic took hold by mid-2020, and 2021 brought another significant drop of 27 percent to 333 cases. With federal financial programs in effect, counting efforts resulted in only 320 cases. The success of these programs will become quite clear if, as expected, their gradual elimination results in the numbers increasing in 2023.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in March 2020. As part of the CARES Act, Congress appropriated $4 billion to the Emergency Solutions Grants – Coronavirus (ESG-CV) program to help communities to support additional homeless assistance and prevention activities. Funds could be used to support additional sponsor-based rental assistance, hotel or motel costs for people experiencing homelessness, and temporary emergency shelters. ESG-CV funds were also used to support an increase in rapid re-housing inventory. In March 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which included $1.1 billion in funding to support Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV). EHVs can be used to provide permanent housing support to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
The pattern for homeless children has somewhat mirrored that of the total, though the decrease over time has been much greater. While the numbers grew in the early part of last decade, reaching a high of 281 in 2013, the drop between 2013 and 2014 was double that of the total – 64 percent – dropping the total to 100 in 2014. This total has stayed constant up through 2022, averaging 109 cases per year over the last 8 years.
While the ultimate goal is to eliminate homelessness, by providing stable housing with wraparound supports, this is not likely to be achieved in the near term. Monitoring the numbers helps identify best practices across the country. We can see that investing in resources does make a difference, especially in helping vulnerable populations and children.
In December Oakland County shared a resource guide for those who want to help homeless individuals. The trusted community partners recommended are:
- HAVEN: 24-hour emergency shelter for domestic and sexual assault victims
- HOPE Adult Shelter: Walk in, low barrier emergency shelter for anyone over age 18
- Lighthouse: emergency shelter, housing and food assistance
- Welcome Inn Day Center: low barrier day center, overnight shelter with area churches
- Community Housing Network: affordable housing, housing assistance, homebuyer education
- Grace Centers of Hope: various shelter services for men, women, and children
- OLHSA: Emergency housing and emergency assistance
- Common Ground: shelter programs for youth
- Oakland County Neighborhood & Housing Development
For additional support, call 2-1-1 and Oakland County Health Division’s Nurse On Call.
Visit the Data-Based Stories Archives on Oakland County Times for stories on voter turnout, population shifts, Dogs of Oakland County, and other statistics-related stories, thanks to Data Expert Kurt Metzger.