Homelessness in America: Focus on Families with Children

This brief by the Interagency Council on Homelessness discusses family homelessness and its scale, patterns, data gaps, risks, and policy potential. Given that homeless families make up one-third of the total homeless population and that the majority of the people within these families are children under 18, family homelessness is a serious and widespread issue. Family sizes range from two-person, single parent families, to two- or three-person households, to those with five or more people. Data show that women, non-white people, and people with disabilities are disproportionately more likely to experience family homelessness, and that chronic housing instability, often driven by high rents, creates a cycle of recurring homelessness episodes. Because homelessness has lasting psychological effects on families, particularly on children, it is critical to break the cycle of housing instability by understanding the causes of family homelessness and the demographics and needs of those experiencing it.