the problem (continued)

Overall, the Hennepin County homeless demographics are:

38 percent children
34 percent men
27 percent women
1 percent unaccompanied youth

Most recently, Wilder Research counted 6,296 people experiencing homelessness statewide on one night. They identified 1,421 outside the shelter and transitional housing system. Overall, Wilder estimates that between 9,200 to 9,300 people are homeless in Minnesota on an average night.

Unaccompanied homeless youth are falling through the cracks of social services. Seventy percent of these individuals have prior experience living in foster homes, group homes, treatment centers, or correctional facilities.

Significant portions of people who are homeless are also dealing with serious medical issues, including mental illness, domestic abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive disorders, and substance abuse. These conditions can be a barrier to steady employment and housing if not properly treated or addressed. Mental illness affects 52 percent of homeless adults and 54 percent of homeless youth.

Everyone experiences the rising costs of living, but it affects the lower end of the economy the most. Earning wages near the minimum puts a person at greater risk of becoming or remaining homeless. For example, 28 percent of homeless adults in Minnesota work, but of these, 64 percent earned less than $10 per hour. With little margin for financial error, any emergency – from medical to personal – has the potential to severely disrupt an individual's or family's housing situation.

the problem (continued)

the problem

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