Hello retta-ga,
Thank you for your clarification stating that the type of information
I?ve found will provide a satisfactory answer. As I stated in my
clarification request, it is difficult to find a universal method for
counting the homeless. I?ve included links to several reports that
will help you review the issues involved in helping you define your
terms. In addition, I also found that counting the homeless is a
project undertaken on an irregular basis by a variety of organizations
but there isn?t a national recurring census program that will give you
the changing statistics year to year. You might be able to find state
and municipal counts that might better meet your needs.
My research showed that two reports are most frequently cited for
homeless children statistics ? the 2000 Urban Institute study and the
2001 US Conference of Mayors report. Almost every organization
involved with helping the homeless refers to one or both of these
surveys. I believe both of these will meet your need for ?some agency
people that people would find believable.?
I trust that the information I?ve found will meet your needs. Best
wishes for your project.
~ czh ~
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STATISTICS -- HOMELESS CHILDREN
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http://www.nationalhomeless.org/who.html
Who is Homeless?
NCH Fact Sheet #3
Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, May 2004
In 2001, the U.S. Conference of Mayors' survey of homelessness in 27
cities found that children under the age of 18 accounted for 25.3% of
the urban homeless population (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2001). This
same study found that unaccompanied minors comprised 4% of the urban
homeless population. However, in other cities and especially in rural
areas, the numbers of children experiencing homelessness are much
higher. On a national level, approximately 39% of the homeless
population are children (Urban Institute 2000).
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http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/end_homelessness.pdf
What Will It Take to End Homelessness?
On any given day, at least 800,000 people are homeless in the United
States, including about 200,000 children in homeless families. ?
Calculations from different sources show that in the late 1990s at
least 2.3 million, and perhaps as many as 3.5 million, people
experienced homelessness at some time during an average year. Because
more families with children than unpartnered people enter and leave
homelessness during a year, families represent a relatively large
share of the annual population. As a result, during a typical year,
between 900,000 and 1.4 million children are homeless with their
families.
***** This article provides additional information to the statistics
referenced in the NCH Factsheet #3 above.
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http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/900344_AmericasHomelessII.pdf
America?s Homeless II ? Populations and Services ? February 1, 2000
***** This is a 15 page report that includes several tables and graphs
on homelessness several of which refer specifically to children.
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http://www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org/Statistics_National_Statistics.asp
National Demographics and Trends
The number of children experiencing homelessness in the United States
is alarming. The Urban Institute estimates that 1.35 million children
will experience homelessness over the course of a year (Urban
Institute, 2000); and the number of children and youth in homeless
situations (PreK-12) identified by State Departments of Education
increased from approximately 841,700 in 1997 to 930,200 in 2000 (U.S.
Department of Education, 2000).
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http://eop.dpsk12.org/stories/storyReader$13
More Than One Million Homeless Children
Although counting the exact number of homeless children is difficult,
a consensus is emerging among researchers. According to The National
Coalition for the Homeless, 1.2 million children are homeless on any
given night. Supporting this figure are estimates from the U.S.
Department of Education that report almost 400,000 homeless children
were served by the nation's public schools last year. Since more than
half of all homeless children are under the age of 6 and not yet in
school, a minimum of 800,000 children can be presumed to be homeless.
On the basis of these data, The Better Homes Fund concludes that more
than one million American children are homeless today.
***** This page provides lots of other statistics about homeless children.
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http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/homeless.shtml
Almanac of Policy Issues -- Homelessness
On any given night in America, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million
people are homeless, according to estimates of the National Law Center
on Homelessness and Poverty.
According to a December, 2000 report of the US Conference of Mayors:
-- single men comprise 44 percent of the homeless, single women 13
percent, families with children 36 percent, and unaccompanied minors
seven percent.
***** This page provides additional homeless ness statistics and resources as well.
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http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/us_mayor_newspaper/documents/12_17_01/hunger_homeless.asp
17th Annual Conference Survey of Hunger, Homelessness Documents
Increase in Current Demands -- December 17, 2001
To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in America's cities
during 2001 The U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 27 major cities
whose mayors were members of its Task Force on Hunger and
Homelessness.
***** This is a summary of the report that is most frequently cited
regarding child homelessness.
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GENERAL INFORMATION -- HOMELESSNESS AND CHILDREN
================================================
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/numbers.html
How Many People Experience Homelessness?
Many people call or write the National Coalition for the Homeless to
ask about the number of homeless people in the United States. There is
no easy answer to this question, and in fact, the question itself is
misleading. In most cases, homelessness is a temporary circumstance --
not a permanent condition. A more appropriate measure of the magnitude
of homelessness is therefore the number of people who experience
homelessness over time, not the number of "homeless people."
Studies of homelessness are complicated by problems of definitions and
methodology. This fact sheet describes definitions of homelessness,
methodologies for counting homeless people, recent estimates of
homelessness, and estimates of the increase in homelessness over the
past two decades. Additional resources for further study are also
provided.
There are several national estimates of homelessness. Many are dated,
or based on dated information. For all of the reasons discussed above,
none of these estimates is the definitive representation of "how many
people are homeless," but the best approximation is from an Urban
Institute study which states that about 3.5 million people, 1.35
million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a
given year (Urban Institute 2000).
***** This is an excellent report that discusses the difficulties of
providing statistical information about homelessness.
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http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
National Coalition for the Homeless
Our mission is to end homelessness. We focus our work in the following
four areas: housing justice, economic justice, health care justice,
and civil and voting rights. Our approaches are: grassroots
organizing, public education, policy advocacy, technical assistance,
and partnerships.
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http://www.homesforthehomeless.com/index.asp?CID=3&PID=18
Homes for the Homeless ? Reports and Statistics
***** This site offers several publications that address the problem
of family and child homelessness.
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http://www.weingart.org/institute/resource/recommended.html#homeless
Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty
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SEARCH STRATEGY
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statistics homelessness children
"Urban Institute " homelessness children
US Conference of Mayors |
