New Data Show Homelessness Rising in Chicago and the United States

How The Night Ministry Is Responding

By Carol J. Sharp, MPA
President & CEO

With homelessness reaching record highs in the United States and in Chicago, The Night Ministry stands committed to providing the evidence-based services and resources that help our vulnerable neighbors survive and overcome their current life circumstances.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2024 Point-in-Time Count shows a nearly 20% jump in the number of individuals living in shelters or outside. The count, conducted last January, found more than 770,000 individuals experiencing homelessness across the country, the highest number since the federal government began conducting the annual census in 2007.

The Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness 2024 Estimate of People Experiencing Homelessness reports that more than 76,000 of our neighbors were either living in shelters or on the streets or staying temporarily with others. The number, which reflects data from 2022, has steadily risen over the past three years. And within that estimate, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in shelters or on the streets grew more than 30% from the prior year.

Guided by data and evidence-proven practices, The Night Ministry continually evolves its programs to address our unhoused neighbors' complex challenges. In response to the growing number of unsheltered individuals, this month we are expanding our outreach to tent encampments by deploying our Health Outreach Bus to these sites three days a week. To address in the ongoing housing shortage in Chicago, we are piloting community-based housing models that pair unstably housed young people with roommates for apartment living coupled with support from The Night Ministry. As we began our strategic planning for the coming years, we will continue to build upon services that provide tangible improvements in the lives of those we serve.

Thank you for standing with The Night Ministry as we work together to solve the homelessness crisis and ensure that all our neighbors have access to the resources to stay alive, stabilize, and thrive.

Sources

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. Available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2024-AHAR-Part-1.pdf

Samuel Paler-Ponce. Estimate of People Experiencing Homelessness in Chicago, IL (2024). Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness. Available at https://www.chicagohomeless.org/estimate

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