750,000 Americans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, as many as 2 million people experience homelessness for some period of time. These are the people who live on the street, in shelters, in cars, and in campgrounds. Together, all of these individuals make up the pool from which people cycle in and out of homelessness.
Homelessness affects a wide variety of people.
The fastest growing group of homeless people consists of families with children. The typical homeless family consists of a young unmarried mother with two or three small children. Many of these young mothers are fleeing domestic violence, and most lack the work skills, access to child care, or access to jobs necessary to support their families. These are the systemic or underlying factors which cause homelessness. To end homelessness, three things are required.