Politics
Number of Chicagoans Experiencing Homelessness Jumped 12%: New Report
A homeless encampment in Humboldt Park. (WTTW News)
The number of Chicagoans staying in city shelters, on city streets or temporarily living “doubled-up” with friends or relatives rose approximately 12%, according to a new report from the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness.
Approximately 76,375 people in Chicago experienced homelessness during 2022, according to the group’s 2024 report, which relies on the most recent available data.
The report does not include the approximately 52,000 migrants who made their way to Chicago from the southern border after requesting asylum.
A spokesperson for the group blamed the increasing cost of housing and the end of efforts spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent homelessness for making it increasingly difficult for Chicago families to find and keep affordable housing.
The report from the coalition, which recently changed its name after being known as the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, should be “a stark reminder of the scale of the crisis” facing Chicago, according to the group.
The survey found that 31,333 Chicagoans slept on the city’s streets or in a city-run shelter, while an additional 45,042 sought refuge with family or friends during 2022.
That represents an increase of nearly 8,000 people, as compared with the coalition’s 2023 report, which was based on 2021 data.
The coalition’s estimate of the number of Chicagoans who lacked a permanent place to sleep is significantly higher than the official tally used by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials to determine federal funding levels.
According to the federal estimate, more than 18,800 people in Chicago lacked a permanent place to sleep, per the annual “point-in-time” count, which sends volunteers out to count the number of unsheltered people on the city’s streets on a single night. The 2024 count took place on Jan. 25. That count included new arrivals to Chicago.
The number of Chicagoans living in city shelters or on city streets tripled between January 2023 and January 2024, according to the federal tally.
The coalition led the unsuccessful fight for the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home, which would have allowed the Chicago City Council to hike taxes on the sales of properties worth more than $1 million to generate $100 million annually to address the root causes of homelessness by building new permanent housing that offers wraparound services.
Voters rejected that measure in March, leaving the city without a dedicated source of revenue to combat homelessness.
“With another brutal Chicago winter ahead of us, and a growing number of people without stable housing, we need solutions,” the coalition said in a statement. “We need a city that proactively funds permanent housing, alongside supportive services, for the [76,000] who are experiencing homelessness. If we are truly committed to ending homelessness, the city’s resource allocation should reflect that.”
Chicago is set to spend 21% more in 2025 to directly fight homelessness than it did this year, as city, state and county officials transition to a unified shelter system that will care for migrants as well as longtime residents who are unhoused, records show.
There were approximately 2,600 migrants living in six facilities as of Thursday, according to city data. The city’s traditional shelter system, which has 3,000 beds, is at capacity, officials said.
Once the new system launches in January, it will have 6,800 beds, according to officials.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
