Homelessness in DC

The following factsheet was prepared by Greater D.C. Cares, a long-time partner with Loaves and Fishes, who graciously allowed us to repost it here.

DC remains the city with the highest rate of homelessness in the country. For the entire region, 11,762 were reported as homeless in 2007¹.

Homelessness Issues

Poverty

• The 2007 federal poverty level for an individual was $10,210, and the level for a family of four was $20,650².
• 1 in 5 DC residents are currently living at or below the poverty line³, making it the 3rd highest poverty rate in the nation⁴.
• DC’s poverty rates are nearly two times that of national poverty rates³.
  • 19.6% of individuals in DC live below the poverty line³.
  • 8.2% of individuals in Maryland live below the poverty line⁴.
  • 7.4% of individuals in Virginia live below the poverty line⁴.
• Fair Market rent values have increased 51% in the DC region since 19985.

Children

• Children account for 25.6% of all homeless individuals in the Washington Metropolitan Area¹.
• DC has the highest rate of child poverty in the nation, with 3 out of 10 children living at or below the poverty line⁶.

Families

• In DC, there are nearly 700 homeless families, comprised of approximately 800 adults and 1,200 children⁵.
  • 17% of families in DC live in poverty⁴.
  • 6% of families in Maryland live in poverty⁴.
  • 7.4% of families in Virginia live in poverty⁴.
• Homeless families in DC are typically headed by a single woman from Ward 7 or 8⁵.

Substance Abuse and Mental Illness

• 71% of homeless individuals and 53% of persons in homeless families living in DC suffer from either substance abuse or a mental illness⁷.
• Among DC’s street-bound homeless population, 40% have a co-occurring disorder – they are both mentally ill and chemically dependent on drugs⁷.

Homelessness Issues Resources:

• Bright Beginnings, Inc., www.brightbeginningsinc.org
• Christ House, www.christhouse.org
• Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place (CCH/FP), www.cchfp.org
• Community Family Life Services of Washington, DC, www.cflsdc.org
• Community of Hope, www.communityofhopedc.org
• DC Central Kitchen, www.dccentralkitchen.org
• DC Department of Human Services, www.dhs.dc.gov
• Hands on Network, www.handsonnetwork.org/vca/homelessness-intro/2/
• Help the Homeless Walkathon, www.helpthehomelessdc.org
• House of Ruth, www.houseofruth.org
• Miriam’s Kitchen, www.miriamskitchen.org
• National Alliance to End Homelessness, www.endhomelessness.org
• National Coalition for the Homeless, www.nationalhomeless.org/
• National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, www.nlchp.org
• N Street Village, www.nstreetvillage.org
• Racheal’s Women’s Center, www.rachaels.org
• SOME (So Others Might Eat), www.some.org
• Street Sense, www.streetsense.org
• The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness,www.community-partnership.org/
• The Dinner Program for Homeless Women, www.dphw.org
• The Salvation Army of Washington, DC, www.salarmydc.org
• Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, www.legalclinic.org

Sources:

1. “Homeless Enumeration for the Washington Metropolitan Region 2007”. Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments: 2007. http://www.mwcog.org.
2. “The 2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines.” Department of Health and Human Services: 2007.
3. U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey.
4. “Poverty & Homelessness, Washington, DC.” SOME (So Others Might Eat): 2007. http://some.org/docs/factsheet_poverty_6_07.pdf.
5. “Fast Facts on Homelessness in D.C.” The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness: 2007. http://www.community-partnership.org/cp_dr-Fastf.php.
6. “Low-Income Children in the United States: National and State Trend Data, 1995-2005.” National Center for Children in Poverty: 2005.
7. “First Citywide Comprehensive Substance Abuse Strategy for the District of Columbia, 2003”. The Mayor’s Interagency Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Control: 2003.