What Causes Homelessness? Part One

Mercifully, the election is over and the post-election posturing has begun. As in most election cycles, the economy has been front and center in voter’s minds. Will our economy improve or worsen under a new administration? Will more jobs be created? Will unemployment decrease? Will wages rise?

The data is in for our most recent fiscal year (ended on September 30). On average in 2016, 119 men, women and children found shelter on any given night at the Rescue Mission. When sharing this number in the community, it is common to hear this response, “It is no wonder the number is high, given the state of the economy.” Popular opinion links episodes of homelessness with the fate of the economy. However, we have learned that there is no clear correspondence between economic conditions and the number of people who experience homelessness.

Certainly, poverty and unemployment are factors in episodes of homelessness. But, at least in the Mahoning Valley, we have witnessed an interesting trend. When the economy “tanked” in 2008, the average number of people who sought shelter at the Rescue Mission was 63. That average number dropped to 56 in 2009. As conditions began to improve, our numbers began to rise: 65 in 2010; 78 in 2011; 85 in 2012; 101 in 2013; 122 in 2014; and 131 in 2015.

How do we explain these rising numbers? Perhaps the larger question is this: “if poverty is a contributor to homelessness, what, then, causes poverty?” Why do people experience homelessness? We will look at this in the next post.