The following statistics were taken from a 2007 fact sheet published by the National Coalition for the Homeless (http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/Whois.pdf).
Gender: 67.5% of the single homeless population surveyed were male, while 32.5% were female.
Age: 39% of the homeless population were children under the age of 18, 42% of these kids were under the age of 5.
Ethnicity: 42% were African American, 39% Caucasian, 13% Hispanic, 4% Native American, 2% Asian.
Families: 23% of the homeless population are comprised of families with children.
Victims of Domestic Violence: Of 777 homeless parents surveyed, the majority of whom are mothers, 22% left their homes because of domestic violence.
Veterans: 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces.
Employment: 13% of the urban homeless population were employed.
The following was taken from http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/2006/report06.pdf
Hunger and Homelessness Survey 2006
To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in America's cities during 2006, The U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 24 major cities whose mayors were members of its Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. The survey sought information and estimates from each city on 1) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter and the capacity of local agencies to meet that demand; 2) the causes of hunger and homelessness and the demographics of the populations experiencing these problems; 3) exemplary programs or efforts in the cities to respond to hunger and homelessness; 4) the availability of affordable housing for low income people; and 5) the outlook for the future and the impact of the economy on hunger and homelessness.
Among the findings of the 23-city survey:
HUNGER
Officials in the survey cities estimate that during the past year requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 7%, with 74% of the cities registering an increase.
On average, 23% of the requests for emergency food assistance are estimated to have gone unmet during the last year. In 26% of the cities, emergency food assistance facilities may have to turn away people in need due to lack of resources.
In 100% of the cities, families and individuals relied on emergency food assistance facilities both in emergencies and as a steady source of food over long periods of time.
Unemployment and other employment-related problems lead the list of causes of hunger identified by the city officials. Other cited, in order of frequency, include high housing costs, poverty or lack of income, medical or health costs, mental health problems, substance abuse, transportation costs, high childcare costs, lack of education, and utility costs.
HOMELESSNESS
During the past year, requests for emergency shelter increased in the survey cities by an average of 9%, with 68% of the cities registering an increase. Requests for shelter by homeless families alone increased by 5%, with 59% of the cities reporting an increase.
An average of 23% of the requests for emergency shelter by homeless people overall and 29% of the requests by homeless families alone are estimated to have gone unmet during the last year.
People remain homeless an average of seven months in the survey cities. 32% of the cities said that the length of time people were homeless increased during the last year.
Lack of affordable housing leads the list of causes of homelessness identified by the city officials. Other causes cited, in order of frequency include low-paying jobs, mental illness and the lack of needed services, substance abuse and the lack of needed services, domestic violence, unemployment, poverty, and prisoner re-entry.
An average of 22% of homeless people in the cities are considered mentally ill and 30% are substance abusers.
In 57% of the cities, families may have to break up in order to be sheltered. In 48% of the cities families may have to spend their daytime hours outside of the shelter they use at night.
Requests for assisted housing by low-income families and individuals increased in 86% of the cities during the last year.
THE OUTLOOK
Officials in 72% of the responding cities expect requests for emergency food assistance to increase during 2007. 95% expect that requests for emergency food assistance by families with children will increase during 2007. Officials in 68% of the cities expect that requests for emergency shelter will increase next year. 75% expect that requests by homeless families will increase.