The number of unhoused people in Chicago has declined over the last decade, but advocates worry federal policies could reverse that trajectory.
The big picture: A new report from the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness (CCH) details how the federal government’s definition of people experiencing homelessness greatly underestimates the number, leading to less funding and fewer resources.
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines homelessness as people living in shelters, on the street and in places not meant for habitation, while CCH says a more accurate description includes anyone without regular, adequate housing, such as sleeping on someone’s couch or “doubling up.”
From the article:
“A lot of rhetoric that surrounds people who are experiencing homelessness is that we deserve it,” Evie Alexander, a CCH board member, said at a recent event about the organization’s report. “I didn’t deserve to have to continue to go through homelessness for a prolonged period, which could have been avoided had I been eligible for a program that would have helped me earlier on.”
“I encourage policymakers to think about the concept of a home and what having a home really means.”
