Aged, Graceful and Presumably Stable

Fixed instability

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

Do you know:

• 1.3% of the population identifies as Native American

• 7.2% of the population identifies as Asian American;

• 13% of the population identifies as Black American; and

• 19.5% of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latin American?

Although this confirms that the US is becoming more racially diverse, it must be noted that a point-in-time survey conducted by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports that 0.2% of the US population is considered homeless/unhoused.

Because a point-in-time represents any given night, it is imperative to consider the overall unhoused in comparison to the total US population.

That said, on any given night:

• 57% of unhoused individuals are veterans of the US Armed Forces;

• 16% of the unhoused are family units, not individuals; but more alarmingly

• 20% of the total unhoused population in the US consists of individuals aged 55 or older; which means

• Nearly 1 in 4 adults over the age of 55 experiencing homelessness are unsheltered/living in places unintended for human habitation.

Because older adults are the fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness in the US, it is estimated that by the calendar year 2030, the number of unhoused older adults will triple.

In the spirit of Christmas, please consider such when next encountered by anyone asking for spare change.

Where people matter, grim statistics are nonexistent.