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2013 Smith County Homelessness Assessment Report
Key Findings
Homelessness by the numbers:
Homelessness trends:
Reasons for homelessness:
Self reported needs of those experiencing homelessness:
TO VIEW AND PRINT A FULL COPY OF THE REPORT, CLICK HERE.
Homelessness by the numbers:
- 238 homeless persons were found on the night of January 24, 2013. Of those identified that night, 181 (76%) were adults and 57 (24%) were children.
- Point in time homeless estimate is 435 people on any given night with an annualized homeless estimate of 961 moving in and out of homelessness in one year.
- Thirty-nine percent of homeless respondents were female, an increase of 6%; 61% were male.
- Many races and ethnicities are represented in the Smith County homeless population with 71% identifying as white and 25% identifying as African-American. Nearly 10% stated their ethnicity was of Hispanic/Latino descent.
- Across the spectrum, single individuals represent the highest percent of respondents in our surveyed population at 74%. Homelessness in Families with children continues to rise and makes up 18% of the population.
- Median age of adults was 41 years old; children’s median age was 10 years old.
- Military veterans are homeless at a higher rate than other groups. In Smith County, 21% of our surveyed populations are classified as veterans, a 2% increase over last year. Sadly, 70% of those identified are not receiving VA benefits.
Homelessness trends:
- There was a decrease in the number of people staying on the streets, those precariously housed, and those in transitional housing; this resulted in a shift with more of those individuals seeking assistance from Emergency Shelters*
- First time homelessness remains the same at 56%.
- Chronic homelessness, those homeless continuously for a year or more, or those experiencing homelessness at least four times in the past three years decreased 4%.
- Those experiencing homelessness two to three times in the past three years decreased by 5%.
- Those experiencing homelessness are remaining homeless longer periods of time, in 2010 the average homelessness lasted 90 days, this year the average homelessness lasts 150 days.
Reasons for homelessness:
- Lack of employment and the inability to pay rent or mortgages are the most significant reasons for becoming homeless 39% and 30%, divorce accounts for 19%, and domestic violence accounts for 16%.
- Historically, the number one reason for unemployment is lack of transportation.
Self reported needs of those experiencing homelessness:
- Top five needs are transportation (55%), basic needs (food/clothing) (54%) job training and placement (53%), Food stamps (46%) and case management (32%).
TO VIEW AND PRINT A FULL COPY OF THE REPORT, CLICK HERE.