(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a horrible development for the nation, President Joe Biden’s administration has set a particularly grim record as the number of homeless Americans has reached an all-time high against the backdrop of skyrocketing rents, a new report reveals.
The new study by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reveals that around 653,000 individuals were homeless in January of the previous year.
This figure marks an approximately 12% increase from 2022 and is the highest yearly rise on record.
The homelessness count last year exceeded the 2015 statistics by about 48%, The Daily Wire reports.
Factors contributing to this crisis include soaring rental costs and inflation, exacerbated by the cessation of COVID-19 pandemic relief measures, including eviction protections.
“Rapidly rising rents, combined with wage losses in the early stages of the pandemic, have underscored the inadequacy of the existing housing safety net, especially in times of crisis,” the Harvard report points out.
The median rent in the United States was reported at $1,964 in December, a 23% increase since the pandemic, as stated by Rent.com.
Although the rental market shows signs of stabilization, rent prices remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, and wage growth has not kept pace.
Government data shows that median weekly wages only grew by 1.7% from 2019 to 2023.
The report also highlights a substantial increase in renters with annual incomes between $45,000 and just under $75,000 who are now struggling with housing costs.
In 2022, about 41% of these renters were allocating 30% to 50% of their monthly income to housing, a considerable increase from pre-pandemic levels and nearly double the rate in 2001.
The availability of low-cost rental units is also diminishing, with over half a million apartments priced under $600 disappearing between 2019 and 2022.
States like Arizona, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas experienced significant rises in homelessness due to escalating housing costs.
California and Washington state, already grappling with chronic homelessness and overburdened shelters, have seen further deterioration of the situation.
In Los Angeles County, homelessness increased by 9% in 2023, totaling around 75,000 individuals.
The Bay Area reports approximately 38,000 homeless people on any given night, a 35% increase since 2019, with over 7,000 in San Francisco alone.
The homelessness issue is often linked with crime and open-air drug use, particularly the fentanyl epidemic in other Democrat-run cities like San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia.
In Washington state, the homeless population rose by 11% to 28,036 last year, although this is believed to be an underestimation.
