The Problem
Overview: The Faces of Homelessness
Calculating the exact number of homeless individuals in Hennepin County is challenging, however, every three years Wilder Research conducts a comprehensive count of the homeless population in the state of Minnesota. On Oct. 26, 2006, a one-night sample survey counted roughly 3,000 people living in homeless shelters or transitional housing in Hennepin County.
Overall, the Hennepin County homeless demographics are as follows:
- 38 percent children
- 34 percent men
- 27 percent women
- 1 percent unaccompanied youth
Most recently, Wilder Research counted 6,296 people experiencing homelessness throughout the state of Minnesota on one night. They identified 1,421 people living outside the shelter and transitional housing system. Overall, Wilder estimates that an average of 9,200 to 9,300 people are homeless throughout the state on any given night.
Unaccompanied homeless youth are slipping through the cracks of social services. Seventy percent of these individuals have prior experience living in foster homes, group homes, treatment centers, or correctional facilities. Eighty percent of all homeless children in Minnesota, accompanied or otherwise, are 12 years old or younger.
Large portions of the homeless population deal with significant health problems, including mental illness, domestic abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive disorders, and substance abuse. These conditions are a barrier to steady employment and housing if not properly treated. Mental illness in some form affects fifty-two percent of homeless adults and fifty-four percent of homeless youth.
Everyone experiences the rising costs of living but it affects members of the lower economic strata the most, as there is a vast discrepancy between the amount of income earned through minimum-wage employment and actual housing costs. Thus, earning wages near the minimum places a person at greater risk of becoming or remaining homeless. For example, 28 percent of homeless adults in Minnesota work, but of these, 64 percent earned less than $10 per hour. With little margin for financial error, any emergency – from medical to personal – has the potential to severely disrupt an individual's or family's housing situation.
Land of 10,000 Homeless video
Since 2000, the Metro-wide Engagement on Shelter and Housing (MESH) has created a metro-wide partnership of seven metro counties and 60 organizations that are building solutions to end homelessness and improve access to affordable housing. To educate people about the realities of homelessness, MESH produced a video entitled Land of 10,000 Homeless, which can be used as a discussion piece for any interested groups. MESH can provide a facilitator to lead the a discussion on this video and on homelessness in our community. Email: info@mesh-mn.org
Phone: 612.278.1165