Maricopa County’s homeless population is still growing, as recent snapshots show.
An annual attempt to quantify the area’s homeless population in a single day found that 9,642 people were homeless in the county on January 23rd.
The numbers reflect a modest 7% increase from last year’s numbers, but the county’s homeless population has increased by 72% since 2017.
Just over half of those counted were unprotected. That is, they lived on the streets, in cars, or in other places that weren’t meant for sleeping.
The proportion of unprotected people in the county decreased slightly compared to last year, but the proportion of people staying in emergency shelters and temporary housing increased. This is likely a testament to how many new shelter beds have been opened by governments, nonprofits and foundations over the past year, said Katie, regional homeless program manager for the Maricopa Government Association, which coordinates counts. Gentry said.
The City of Phoenix worked with the county and other agencies to create nearly 600 new shelter beds last year and plans to complete another 800 beds by the end of 2024. Other municipalities in the county have also recently created new shelters. Month.
However, according to research, Phoenix’s defenseless population increased slightly from 2022 to 2023, similar to Tempe’s. Elsewhere, including Glendale and Mesa, the unprotected population declined.
Maricopa County Homeless Population Demographics
Last year’s increase in the county’s homeless population was not evenly spread across demographic groups.
The number of veterans experiencing homelessness increased by 20% between 2022 and 2023, but that number has fluctuated significantly over the past few years.
The number of chronically homeless people is steadily increasing, more than doubling between 2017 and 2023. A person is chronically homeless if he has a disability and he has been homeless for at least one year or has been homeless repeatedly in the last three years.
Blacks and Native Americans continued to be overrepresented in the county’s homeless population relative to their share of the county’s population as a whole, while Hispanics or Latinos and Asians were underrepresented. rice field.
A recent study found that nationally, Hispanics and Latinos are less likely to seek services and more likely to couchsurf or stay in overcrowded housing. National Alliance to End Homeless ResearchGentry of the Maricopa Government Association said that may partly explain why their numbers are so low.
Point-in-time count data also includes new insights into why people become homeless. Nearly 450 people said rent increases were the cause of homelessness, and nearly 250 said it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restrictions on point-in-time count data
Point-in-time data almost certainly underestimate the Valley’s homeless population. Many unprotected people are not counted because they hide, move from place to place, or are otherwise invisible throughout the day. Bad weather, too few volunteers, and human error also limit counting accuracy.
Children and families are particularly difficult to count, Gentry said.
“They don’t want to be discovered because they have children, they experience homelessness, they worry about what will happen if they are in a place not intended for human habitation,” Gentry said. Told.
Of the more than 550 families included in the January point-in-time count, less than 10% were unprotected, she said.
Even if the counting methodology were perfect, this number is not a good measure of the county’s total annual homeless population.
Other data sources including quarterly Homeless Trend Reporthelps provide a complete picture of the fluctuating homeless population in the county.
Juliette Rihl covers housing insecurity and homelessness in the Republic of Arizona.she can be reached at jrihl@arizonarepublic.com or on twitter @julietterihl.
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