Homeless Family Demographics

Homelessness in the United States

During 2021, federal rental assistance programs enabled more than 10 million people in 5.2 million low-income households—including nearly 4 million children—to afford modest homes.

(Center of Budget and Policy Priorities)

On a single night in 2021, more than 326,000 people were experiencing sheltered homelessness in the U.S.; four in ten were people in families with children.

(HUD Annual Homeless Assessment Report 2021)

Our Impact

In FY22, Hildebrand staff and Board worked together to create a Strategic Plan that will shape the work of the organization for the next three years and beyond. The Strategic Plan will transform Hildebrand and its impact on families experiencing homelessness, while disrupting the systems that lead to it. The plan identifies four Strategic Directions, each with its own bold set of goals that will guide the growth and development of the organization into the future.

328 Families

1,015 Individuals

Half of all people experiencing sheltered homelessness as part of a family with children were in three states: New York, California, and Massachusetts. The 2021 estimate for sheltered homeless families in Massachusetts was 9,666.

(HUD Annual Homeless Assessment Report 2021)

The number of enrolled students who have experienced homelessness at some point during the last three school years has increased to more than 1.5 million The greatest increases were for students in upper grades; homeless students in grades five, six, eleven, and twelve all increased by 20-23%.

(National Education Association)

Homelessness in Massachusetts

On June 30, 2020, there were 3,096 families with children and pregnant individuals in Massachusetts’ Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program.

(Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless)

60% Children

259 School-Aged Children

There is a shortage of 163,318 affordable rental homes available for extremely low-income renters.

(National Low Income Housing Coalition/Massachusetts)

41 Families Placed In Permanent Housing

The maximum income for a 4-person extremely low-income household (at the state level) is $31,960 The annual household income needed to afford a 2-bedroom rental home at HUD’s Fair Market Rate is $78,984.

(National Low Income Housing Coalition/Massachusetts)

In Massachusetts, about 24,658 public school students experienced homelessness over the course of the 2018-2019 school year. Of that total, 206 students were unsheltered, 7,502 were in shelters, 1,620 were in hotels/motels, and 15,330 were doubled up.

(United States Interagency Council on Homelessness)

82 Families Stably Housed for 2 Years