“If you know of someone who is homeless; or by chance you are homeless yourself; you are not alone.” ― Asa Don Brown
When I ask you to picture a homeless individual what comes to mind? More times than not, people envision a person in tattered clothes, dirty, and begging for change on the sidewalk. Now picture a young adult whose belongings can fit in a single backpack who stays with friends or others off and on. Would you considered them homeless even if they have some type of roof over their heads each night? You should, because both types of people fall among the homeless population.
Homelessness tends to be classified into one box but can be broken down into different forms. Nationalhomeless.org gives just three examples of the types of homelessness people are facing. Chronic homeless are those who live in shelters but for a longer period of time. They may live at a shelter for years and tend to be older in age. Those who are chronically homeless tend to have a harder time finding jobs and tend to be "hard-core unemployed" and may struggle with disabilities or substance abuse issues.
A bigger portion of the homeless population is made up of those who get classified as the transitional homeless. This goes along with chronic homelessness in the sense that it's describing individuals who live at shelters, but it differs due to the time they spend at these shelters. Transitional homeless is just that. It's those who are transitioning out of shelters and into more permanent residencies but stay at a shelter for a short period of time in between this transition.
Nationalhomeless.org ends their list with episodic homelessness. Those who fall into this type of homelessness tend to not stay homeless. These individuals go from being homeless to not and essentially flip flop between these two alternatives. Those in this category are most of the time young individuals and where the majority of the homeless population with mental illnesses and substance abuse fall under.
There are more types of homelessness out there than just those who live on the streets or in shelters. To learn more about the different types of homelessness visit https://greendoors.org/facts/general-data.php to see what other types there are and who may be at risk of becoming homeless.
Dvancantfort, single individuals are more at risk but families are right behind them. Especially single parent families. Here's a link if you want to read more!
https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-report/
Are the homeless more likely to be individuals or a family that is homeless?