ArcaMax

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, which found that over 770,000 people were unhoused in January of last year. This accounts for a disturbing 23% increase for those without permanent residence since 2023. Migration and natural disasters were cited as main reasons for family homelessness. Although HUD reported that rents have "stabilized significantly since January 2024," many cities still face an affordable housing crisis. Census data also show that many renters are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Half of the nation's renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs, classifying them as "rent burdened" since money is tight for other necessities such as food, clothing and utilities. This places them in a dead-end financial situation where saving money for emergencies or building wealth is very difficult.

Thus far this year, winter has been dangerously cold, with bone-chilling temperatures that the unhoused must endure. A homeless man who was sleeping outside in downtown Pensacola, Florida, was found dead Wednesday morning. The city's temperature was in the low 30s. In Reynoldsburg, Ohio, where I reside, temperatures dipped into single digits after our first snowstorm, putting a considerable strain on homeless shelters. The warmer weather projected for next week will be a frigid 40 degrees.

We tend to consider the plight of people on the streets more in the winter, but the national homelessness crisis will require vital additional resources to help them get through the cold months and the rest of the year. I was thinking about this last summer when visiting my hometown of Athens, Georgia. Athens is dealing with high homeless numbers, as are other Georgia cities, including Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah and Columbus. I saw the gravity of Athens' growing problem with the poor and displaced during my daily drive to one of the popular city parks to work out in July. On my way, I would pass an O'Reilly Auto Parts store and a successful optometrist practice, but farther down the street people who were destitute were huddled outside one of the Salvation Army locations. They needed food and clothing, and those who were not homeless were more than likely asking for assistance paying their electric bills. I continue to observe young and old begging for money on street corners in Reynoldsburg, and at night, displaced folks often move around with stuffed backpacks, hoping to find a safe refuge outside to lay their heads.

HUD announced its largest investment in combating homelessness last year, with $3.5 billion to be distributed to homeless organizations nationwide. HUD's Continuum of Care Program oversees the funds and supports close to 7,000 homeless services projects annually. One new component of the CoC budget is that, for the first time, HUD will apply a "cost-of-living adjustment" to keep pace with rising living expenses. Although this assistance comes with a hefty price tag, it is evident that thousands of Americans are in desperate need of it. Take the state of Oregon, for example. Gov. Tina Kotek just extended Oregon's homelessness state of emergency. She has proposed $700 million in her 2025-27 budget that will include shelter and $1.4 billion in bonds and infrastructure to address Oregon's affordable housing shortage. Affordable housing for renters has not kept up with the nationwide demand, so building more homes is an effective and practical way to tackle this critical situation.

Another encouraging sign in battling homelessness is that more churches are stepping in. St. Mark's Episcopal Church and School in West Palm Beach, Florida, has purchased and rehabbed three houses within the past 10 years, and the city wants to partner with more congregations with land that can be used to build affordable homes. Catholic Charities of Central Colorado has just begun construction on a low-income family housing project, and other churches in the state are taking on similar ventures.

In this time of so much suffering, the homeless deserve our compassion. Scripture teaches us that we must be gracious to the poor because God works through us to rescue those in dire need. The HUD statistics show that the need is extreme and seriously urgent.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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