Though we may never know for certain many homeless people there are at any given time, available estimates suggest there are far more of them than anyone realizes. According to the 2019 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) released to Congress last year by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), there are around 568000 people currently experiencing homelessness in the United States alone. But the term "homeless" covers a wide range of different circumstances, including the chronically homeless, i.e., "street people," intermittent homeless, and crisis or transitional homeless (such as women in shelters following domestic abuse).
While research has long demonstrated the medical and psychological consequences of being chronically or temporarily homeless, one problem rarely coming to light is the terrible stigma surrounding homelessness. Often driven by a "not in my backyard" mentality, this stigma has inspired numerous anti-homeless laws in many jurisdictions worldwide. According to statistics compiled by the National Law Center on Homeless and Poverty, around 47 percent of the 197 U.S. cities studied have "anti-homeless" laws on the books, making the homeless prone to arrest for sitting or loitering in a public place for too long. Not only do such laws help keep homeless people "out of sight," but they also deprive them of access to basic medical and social services that might improve their quality of life. Still, given the popularity of these laws with voters, real change remains unlikely in the foreseeable future.
But the abuse that homeless people face is hardly limited to municipal bylaws alone. Along with frequent verbal and/or emotional abuse episodes, many homeless people are also targets of violent acts. While up-to-date statistics are difficult to compile, a 2010 study by the U.S. Department of Justice indicated that 49 percent of homeless individuals surveyed state being victims of violence (including harassment and violent injury from police), compared to 2% of the general population. Given their often-marginal status in society and perceived lack of support from the community, homeless people rarely report such episodes to police for fear of being arrested for "complaining." Instead, such abuse leads to greater social isolation and a worsening of their mental health.
To read more, check out my new Psychology Today blog post here.
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