United States Interagency 
 Council on Homelessness          
December 19, 2016
Council Comes Together for Final Meeting of the Administration, Reviews Progress and Work Ahead

Members of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness   
Our Council met for the last time during this administration on December 8. We want to offer our deepest appreciation to our outgoing members, including our Chair, Health and Human Services Secretary Burwell, and our Vice-Chair, Education Secretary King. Our meeting focused on the many contributions to the progress toward ending homelessness made by all of our 19 member agencies, as well as the critical work that remains to drive even greater progress and to achieve the end of homelessness in America.

We look forward to continuing to partner with expert staff from across our member agencies, and to working with new leaders and members of the Council in 2017. 
 

Data Spotlight: Family Homelessness and the Work Ahead

Young mother with toddler According to the latest point-in-time data from communities across the country, we've reduced sheltered and unsheltered homelessness among family households with children by 23% since 2010, and by 4.6% between 2015 and 2016 alone. That means 2,932 fewer family households were counted on our streets or in shelters across America.

Looking at this data more closely, it is worth noting the following estimates:

  • Nearly half of people in families with children were African American (46%), while 39% were white, and African Americans were disproportionately represented within both the unsheltered population (22%) and the sheltered population (49%). 
  • Nearly one-third of people experiencing homelessness in families with children were Hispanic or Latino (31%), nearly double the Hispanic or Latino share of people experiencing homelessness as individuals (17%).
  • Just under 60% of the people experiencing homelessness in families with children were children under 18 years of age.
  • Within the families experiencing homelessness, 9,800 parenting young adults between 18 and 24 years of age, and 92 parents under the age of 18, were counted.
In addition, the Department of Education recently released homelessness data gathered during the 2014-2015 school year, which found that 1,263,323 students enrolled in public school districts were reported as experiencing homelessness at some point during the school year. 
 
As we consider all of this data, we must reflect on our progress, the strategies that are showing promise, and the urgent work left to do.

 
In Case You Missed It: Our National Initiatives Team Recaps the Tools They've Shared the Most in 2016 
 
Concept image of Knowledge Sharing button on computer keyboard Our regional coordinators work directly with communities every day to help them implement the systems changes necessary to drive progress.

The team highlights and offers reflections on some of the tools that communities have found the most useful over the last year.
 
SSVF Program Releases Annual Report and Notice of Available Funding for New and Existing Grantees 
 
A veteran and his family VA's Supportive Services for Veteran Families program served 100,173 Veterans in FY 2015. Five out of every seven Veterans who exited rapid re-housing services successfully ended their homelessness and moved into permanent housing.  
Learn more about SSVF outcomes in the FY 2015 annual report.
Read the FY 2018 Notice of Funding Availability, which is open to existing grantees and new applicants in some specific areas. The NOFA closes on Feb. 3, 2017.
HUD Releases New Resources to Strengthen Your Partnerships with Multifamily Housing Providers
 
Apartment building Communities across the country have been successfully engaging multifamily property owners to adopt admissions preferences for people experiencing homelessness that can newly align existing housing units with local efforts to end homelessness. To strengthen those relationships, HUD recently released new multimedia resources, including short videos and webinars for owners and service providers.