“Across the nation, homeless service providers have been charged by the federal government to move people from the streets and shelters into a housing environment tailored to their needs” said Brown. “Some individuals and families just need rent assistance, while others who are chronically homeless may need permanent housing that includes support such as help taking prescribed medication regularly or substance abuse counseling to prevent a return to homelessness.”

By federal definition, someone is considered chronically homeless if they experience four or more episodes of homelessness within a three-year period or one or more current consecutive years of homelessness. In addition, the individual must have a disabling condition that makes daily activities difficult, such as a medical or psychological condition or a substance abuse problem.

Houston area housing initiatives include Housing Houston’s Heroes, which has housed 557 homeless individuals and families, including 488 homeless veterans in the past year. Other efforts include joining the 100,000 Homes National Campaign, which helps identify and house chronically homeless individuals nationwide. In Houston, there are between 1500 and 2000 chronically homeless individuals.

Homelessness is a complex issue and effective efforts to prevent it require broad community participation. Triggers that may lead to homelessness include job loss, eviction, bills higher than earnings, domestic abuse, incarceration, mental and/or physical illness, drug and alcohol abuse or changes in family status.

As part of a nine-city pilot program, the greater Houston area PIT 2013 Homeless Count focused on a specific subpopulation, emancipated youth under 24 years of age, entitled YouthCount! Data was collected by canvassing areas where teens and young adults congregate, along with a survey given to students thought to be homeless in area school districts. The results revealed that more than 160 youth were homeless and that the majority of these children were living doubled up with family members in apartments. Two out of five of these youth had experience with foster care, and many had “aged” out of the foster care system leading to their homelessness. One issue that has been identified is that there is a lack of housing for youth less than 18 years of age in this community.