“Preventing and Addressing Homelessness”
This day is filled with powerful sessions that focus primarily on the new wave of homelessness that is almost entirely driven by economic issues rather than substance abuse and severe mental health issues. In the past few years, and to a much greater extent in the months and years ahead, many people who are struggling with low or inconsistent or fixed incomes are losing their housing because housing costs are rising much faster than incomes, and many people simply don’t have savings to cover the gap. With about 10 million people at high risk of eviction or foreclosure, the number of newly homeless could vastly exceed the traditional levels of homelessness seen in our country.
This crisis requires rapid and bold actions at national, state and local levels by a mix of government and non-government organizations—ideally working together around a co-created strategy. This day showcases inspiring examples of different parts of a comprehensive strategy that can dramatically reduce the costs and devastation of what some people are calling the eviction apocalypse.
