The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

Assessing the Role of Public Housing Agencies in
Addressing Homelessness
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
PD&R Edge Online Magazine
Although the number of people in the United States who experienced homelessness
declined by more than 8 percent between 2007 and 2013, homelessness remains a
pressing problem. As many as 1.5 million people stay in emergency shelters or
transitional housing at some time over the course of a year — a number that does not
include those who require but do not receive such assistance. HUD is committed to
addressing homelessness and working toward the goals outlined in the Obama
administration’s 2010 plan Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness.
A recent study commissioned by HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research
investigates how public housing agencies (PHAs) contribute to efforts to prevent and
end homelessness — particularly through the administration of their Housing Choice
Voucher (HCV) and public housing programs. The
research, “Study of PHAs’ Efforts to Serve People
Experiencing Homelessness,” consisted of a web-based
survey of the nearly 4,000 local PHAs (with an 80%
response rate) and a follow-up telephone survey of 120
selected PHAs. The surveys explore the extent to which
PHAs make explicit efforts to target housing assistance to
homeless households, the barriers PHAs face when
assisting people experiencing homelessness, how PHAs
interact with community partners, and how HUD can help
PHAs enhance their efforts to address homelessness.
Key Findings
The study revealed, overall, that 24 percent of PHAs,
controlling 53 percent of all assisted housing units, make
an explicit effort to target housing assistance to homeless households. For the purposes
of this study, these efforts were described in three separate categories: 1) general
preferences, which enable the PHA to purposefully order their waiting list to ensure that
housing resources reach specified populations ahead of those who may also be eligible
for housing assistance, 2) limited preferences, which function similar to a general
preference, but cap the number of vouchers or units that may be allocated to a specified
population, and 3) modification of screening, which refers to changes in screening
procedures or other policies that may serve as barriers to homeless households seeking
to access or utilize housing assistance.
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