“There has been a lot of work in a lot of [US] communities to try to house more homeless people. But the size of the problem is such that it needs to be major priority, including for the government,” Berg said.
According to the alliance’s information, currently there are almost 580,000 homeless people in the United States. About 15 percent of them are considered “chronically homeless.” The number of homeless veterans has reached 50,000.
“It’s definitely true that there is way too many homeless people. Part of the problem, it’s the same problem it has been for years and years, especially for people on the street, just housing is too expensive, and people don’t make enough money,” Berg said.
According to the 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, homelessness in the United States declined by 11 percent between 2007 and 2014. Almost 70 percent of homeless people were staying in residential programs, and a little over 30 percent stayed in unsheltered locations. Nearly one-quarter of all homeless were children under the age of 18, according to the report.
