Rural Homelessness

Homelessness is often assumed to be an urban phenomenon because homeless people are more numerous, more geographically concentrated, and more visible in urban areas. However, people experience the same difficulties associated with homelessness and housing distress in America's small towns and rural areas as they do in urban areas. Problems defining, locating, and sampling have made enumerating the homeless population with certainty virtually impossible with estimates commonly relying on counts of persons using services that are inaccessible. Some of what has been learned in recent years about the causes, consequences, and strategies for combating homelessness in rural areas is summarized below. Resources for further study are also provided.

Publication Date: 
2009