Homelessness in the U.S. hit a record high last year

The latest national count taken in January found more than 650,000 people living in tents, cars and shelters.

Business Wire Via AP

Homelessness in America spiked last year, reaching a record high, according to an annual count that provides a snapshot of one night in January. The report, released today by the department of Housing and Urban development, found more than 650,000 people were living in shelters or outside in tents or cars. That’s up a whopping 12% from the year before.

To advocates, it hardly comes as a surprise.

“We simply don’t have enough homes that people can afford,” says Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “When you combine rapidly rising rent, that it just costs more per month for people to get into a place and keep a place, you get this vicious game of musical chairs.”

Homelessness has been rising since 2017 in large part because of the country’s massive shortage of affordable housing. There was a pause during the pandemic, and Biden administration officials say that’s because of sweeping federal aid that kept people from getting evicted. But last year, in a triple whammy, that aid started running out. Inflation spiked to its highest level in a generation, and median rent hit a record high. Research has found that where rents rise, so does homelessness.

This year’s big jump was driven by people who lost housing for the first time, which Biden administration officials say reflects the sharp rise in rent. The largest increase was among families, and the count also finds a…