Homelessness Due to Lack of Affordable Housing and Squatting by High-Income Groups

The shortage of affordable housing to low-income renters is leading to increased homelessness, a report released by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness showed.

It's estimated that the 20 percent increase in family homelessness between 2007 and 2010 was largely due to the lack of affordable housing to the poorest families.

This shortage can be attributed to higher-income renters occupying affordable housing units, thereby denying access to the poorest families.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates quoted in the report, close to 42 percent or 2.3 million such units are occupied by higher-earning renters.

Meanwhile, though the government has undertaken various measures to increase access to affordable housing, the amount spent on housing programs for low-income households have dropped. The report shows that the rates have dropped 20 percent, reaching an all-time low since 1995.

Due to this drastic drop, even a person earning a minimum wage will find it difficult to rent of a two-bedroom apartment in the U.S., the report said.

"It is clear that the number of affordable rental units has not changed in three decades as the number of people who need affordable housing has skyrocketed," the Institute’s principal policy analyst Matthew Adams said in a statement. "This gap is unsustainable."

Among all the jurisdictions, Los Angeles County had the largest gap, with 21,027 Section 8 (housing) vouchers, but 179,651 people on the waiting list. Similarly, for 2,962 public housing vouchers there were 121,393 people on the waiting list, the report showed.

The lack of affordable housing has led many to move into homeless shelters across the nation. However, these homeless shelters shouldn't be seen as roadblocks by low-income families, Ralph da Costa Nunez, president of the Institute said in a statement.

"The lack of affordable housing in the United States means that for many families, homeless shelters have become a surrogate for low-income housing. Shelters should be seen as tools, not as roadblocks, for these families working to restore their independence," he said.

According to him, these shelters should offer job training and impart other life skills in a bid to help the homeless live an independent life. These centers should be converted into sites of work plus housing, the report suggests.