Minnesota Homelessness Down

HUD or the U.S. department of Housing and Urban Development in a news release indicated that while homelessness increased this year in Minnesota, it did represent a decrease from 2010 numbers.

Local communities in Minnesota reported 7,669 persons experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2017. While this was an increase of 327 persons or 4.6 percent from last year it's actually a decrease of 201 persons or 2.6 percent since 2010. While there has been a decrease over the last 7 years there appears to have been a small upward trend so far this year. The report also indicated homelessness among families with children increasing by 2.6 percent so far this year but this number also represents an 11.6 per cent decrease since 2010.

A breakdown of numbers shows 85.6% of homeless were in shelters or transitional housing programs which compares with 16.9% who were unsheltered.

The number of families with children experiencing homelessness this year increased by 2.6% from last year but is an 11.6% decrease from 2016.