What does homelessness look like?
- About 15,000 people are homeless in Indianapolis each year
- On any given day there are 2,287 homeless in Indianapolis; 27% are familes
- There are more than 25,000 households in Indianapolis making 0-30 percent of area median income
- Indianapolis has the fourth largest percentage of chronically homeless--higher than Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Baltimore--according to a comparison of 55 major U.S. cities and counties
- Affordable housing is the greatest need in addressing the issue of homelessness
- Supportive housing is cost effective--A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that the reduction in hospitalizations, incarceration and shelter costs nearly covered the cost of developing, operating and providing services in supportive housing.
- From 20 to 25 percent of homeless adults suffer from mental illness.
- Only 30 percent of people eligible for housing assistance actually receive it.
- Of the people who are homeless, 40 percent are families with children; 67 percent of those are single-parent families.
To learn more about this issue, click here.
Homeless Counts in Major US Cities and Counties
from the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center
| City/County | Regional Population | Count Year | Homeless Count | % Families | % Chronic | % of Population |
| Orange (County, CA) | 2,987,591 | 2005 | 34,898 | 70% | N/A | 1.2% |
| Sacramento (County, CA) | 1,352,445 | 2005 | 2,229 | 22% | 28% | 0.2% |
| San Fransico (City/County, CA) | 744,230 | 2005 | 6,248 | 10% | 28% | 0.8% |
| Washington, D.C. | 553,523 | 2005 | 5,518 | 31% | 32% | 1.0% |
| Hillsborough (County, FL) | 1,101,261 | 2005 | 9,921 | 75% | 13% | 0.9% |
| Palm Beach (County, FL) | 1,243,230 | 2005 | 3,652 | 40% | 11% | 0.3% |
| Indianapolis | 784,242 | 2005 | 2,287 | 27% | 38% | 0.3% |
| Boston (City, MA) | 569,165 | 2004 | 5,819 | 24% | 17% | 1.0% |
| Baltimore (City, MD) | 636,251 | 2005 | 2,904 | 28% | 14% | 0.5% |
| Detroit (City, MI) | 900,198 | 2005 | 14,827 | 40% | 9% | 1.6% |
| Hennepin (County, MN) | 1,120,897 | 2005 | 3,415 | 49% | 23% | 0.3% |
| Mecklenburg (County, NC) | 771, 617 | 2005 | 2,196 | 26% | 25% | 0.3% |
| Cuyahoga (County, OH) | 1,351,009 | 2005 | 2,208 | 19% | 52% | 0.2% |
