MD Homelessness: What’s Changed And How It Could Be Getting Worse

MARYLAND — The number of homeless Maryland residents living in shelters decreased from 2018 to 2022, down just over 1 percent from 2013 to 2017, according to recent five-year estimates released in a new working paper from the American Community Survey.

Nationwide, nearly 327,000 homeless people, a small proportion (0.1 percent) lived in shelters from 2018 to 2022, but higher than the 267,000 people (0.08 percent) who lived in emergency housing from 2013-2017, according to the research.

In Maryland, 4,103 people were living in shelters from 2013-2017, compared with 3,447 people from 2018-2022, a difference of 1.2 percent.

Further, the research shows, an estimated 5.00 to 6.99 people per 10,000 population in Maryland lived in shelters from 2018-2022.

Researchers said the change in the number of people experiencing homelessness and living in shelters could be due to a change in economic circumstances, funding cuts to shelters, or a combination of both.

The American Community Survey sampled people staying overnight in first-come, first-serve “noninstitutional” shelters — that is, group settings where users are generally able to participate in the workforce. The shelters included places like churches, that provide temporary shelter during extremely cold weather.

Among those experiencing homelessness during the most recent period, 40 percent were female, 8 percent were children under the age of 18, 8 percent were 65 or older, 32 percent were non-Hispanic white, 37 percent were non-Hispanic Black, and 35 percent had a disability.

Among people over age 16 living in shelters, 15 percent didn’t have a job and another 61 percent were not in the labor force. Importantly, the researchers noted, that means only 25 percent of those living in shelters were employed, compared to nearly 60 percent of those living in households or other living quarters.

Nearly a quarter of people over age 25 living in shelters didn’t have a high school diploma, and only 7 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The researchers said low educational attainment and high unemployment likely contributed to a poverty rate over six times higher (76.5 percent) than for the population in households and other living quarters (12.5 percent).

Also important, the researchers said, was that nearly 25 percent of people living in shelters were not in poverty.

The report showed wide variation among states recently, ranging from 173 in Wyoming to 83,550 in New York. New York and three other states — California (57,700), Texas (15,340) and Florida (13,260) accounted for more than 50 percent of the sheltered population.

The American Community Survey estimates aren’t a complete count of the number of Americans experiencing homelessness. The annual Department of Housing and Urban Development Point in Time survey, which estimates the number of homeless people living in or outside of shelters, said 482,500 Americans were homeless in 2022. The methodology is different, with homeless counts in the Point in Time survey taken on a single night on one of the last 10 days of January.

A year later, the 2023 Point in Time survey put the estimated number of homeless Americans to be about 653,100, an increase of about 12 percent, or 70,650 people. Put another way, about 20 of every 10,000 U.S. residents are homeless.

In 2023, 41 states and the District of Columbia saw increases in their homeless populations, according to the Point in Time It’s the highest number of people reported as experiencing homelessness on a single night since the Point in Time reporting began in 2007, HUD noted

The survey, taken on a single night in January 2023, indicated that about 653,100 people — about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States — were experiencing homelessness. Of those, 6 in 10 were staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing or a safe home, while the remaining 4 in 10 were living on the streets.

The increase was seen across all household types and reflected a 12 percent year-over-year increase — roughly 70,650 people from 2022 to 2023.

In the 2023 Point in Time survey, 5,865 Maryland residents were counted as homeless. Results of the 2024 survey haven’t been released.

People in Maryland experiencing homelessness or interested in doing more can find a listing of shelters and other resources on the National Center for Homeless Education website. Nearly 70 shelters in the state are listed on the site.

The 2023 survey showed warm climate states California, Oregon, Hawaii, Arizona and Nevada, respectively, had the highest numbers of people living on the streets. Vermont, New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, respectively, have the lowest rates.