From [HERE] The number of homeless people in the U.S. continues to grow, putting the country on pace to hit yet another record high this year.

Counts from encampments, streets, and shelters are largely higher than they were in 2023, according to preliminary data collected and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

The numbers come from more than 250 homeless-service organizations covering cities, metro areas and vast rural areas. They are meant to reflect homelessness as it existed on a single night early this year. The Journal’s count includes about 550,000 homeless people so far, up about 10% from what these places reported last year. 

The trend thus far means the U.S. is likely to top the roughly 653,000 homeless people estimated in 2023—the highest number since the government started reporting comparable data in 2007.

Most non-whites, especially African Americans and Indigenous people, experience homelessness at higher rates than Whites, largely due to long-standing historical and structural racism.

The most striking disparity can be found among African Americans, who represent 13 percent of the general population but account for 37 percent of people experiencing homelessness and more than 50 percent of homeless families with children. This imbalance has not improved over time.

The final count will depend on outstanding data from places that haven’t yet divulged their 2024 numbers, especially New York City, which reported the highest count last year.

Migrants bused by Texas to Chicago and Denver contributed to the latest increases when they landed in shelters there. Migrants have arrived in significant numbers in New York, which has long had a legal right to shelter, swelling numbers in last year’s count. [MORE]