Takeaways from September 2022 – February 2023
Since September 2022, the Homelessness Prevention Response System (HPRS) has seen a 28% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness. Why?
Contributing factors:
The end of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) in September of 2022 is contributing to an acceleration of single adults experiencing homelessness for the first time
- As cash infusions end across the US, evictions are up – especially in areas with a severe housing shortage, such as Anchorage
- From October 2021-2022, 159 single adults returned to homelessness after previously being housed. Since just September of 2022, 108 single adults have already returned from housing
Increased street outreach is causing a “showing” of data versus a “growing” of data effect
- In January and February of 2023, nearly 90% of those newly “active” came from coordinated entry (CE) and emergency shelter (ES). Since September of 2022, the total share of CE and ES’s contribution to new inflow has increased almost every month since October from around 80%
- Increased street outreach is increasing contacts with people experiencing homelessness who have not yet touched the HMIS system. Some of the new inflow are people who have already been experiencing homelessness and are finally being captured by HMIS
- Overlapped street outreach numbers are now putting our unsheltered population at roughly 320-350, about 50-60 more than our original estimates before more extensive street outreach
Housing placements in February dropped off significantly, particularly among single adults and veterans, driving more net inflow than usual
- For all individuals, but especially singles and veterans, February 2023 was by far the lowest number of folks housed in a month since July of 2021
- Housing fewer individuals and families results in a greater net inflow into the system
To put the recent spike into perspective: the number of people actively experiencing homelessness in the first month of the year is at its 2nd lowest in four years:
- February 2020: 3,347
- February 2021: 3,670
- February 2022: 2,990
- February 2023: 3,090