Types of Homelessness

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The 6 types of homelessness are reversible, irreversible, chronic, episodic, transitional, and hidden.

What is homelessness?

Homelessness is the lack of inadequate shelter for an individual or group. There are several situations in which one can be considered homeless, including:

• Staying with friends and family
• Staying in a bed-and-breakfast or a hostel
• Living at risk of violence
• Living in poor conditions that pose a risk to your health
• Living in overcrowded conditions
• Living with insecure tenancy

Homeless individuals span a range of ages and backgrounds, from orphan children to old military veterans.

A common misconception is that a homeless person must have been in this state for a very long time. However, many people fall under the definition of homelessness for a brief period. Others only have two episodes every year, while some even go unreported. As it happens, there are four distinct types of homelessness we must consider in any discourse related to the topic. These types include chronic, episodic, transitional, and hidden homelessness.

Reversible Homelessness

As explained in the article "Chronic Homelessness," the reversibly homeless are individuals who can be expected to reverse their unfortunate fate eventually:

"The reversibly homeless, relative to their community’s cost of living, possess the propensity to pay current rent prices either now or sometime in the future. Only momentarily can they not. Perhaps they are recently unemployed or victims of domestic violence. Maybe they are impermanently injured, heartbroken, mournful, depressed or addicted. Whatever their unfortunate may be, the temporary homeless can eventually earn enough for shelter, they need just to jump through some hoops. They need to get a job. They need to see a doctor. They need to get back on their feet."

Irreversible Homelessness

The irreversibly homeless are individuals who may never be able to reverse their fate:

"The irreversibly homeless on the other hand, are, for the rest of their life, people who lack the propensity to increase their income significantly enough to meet their cost and need for shelter. It’s not that they need a job – they are unable to work! It is not that they need to get back on their feet – they have no feet! The irreversibly homeless are prisoners of mental and physical disabilities, financial dependents of family members and governmental agencies, characterized not by the duration of time they have been homeless, but by the assumptive likelihood that they will always be homeless."

Chronic homelessness

Definition

Chronic homelessness is the most familiar type of homelessness. We can define it as the state of being homeless for more than a year. This usually results from long-term struggles with addiction, mental illness, or poverty. Chronically homeless people are typically older individuals.

Statistics

According to National Alliance to End Homelessness, 96,141 individuals were chronically homeless every night in January 2019. That is a massive 24 percent of the total homeless population. 65 percent of chronically homeless people live on the street, in a car, or even in a park. The good news is that since 2007, there has been a 20 percent decline in cases of chronic homelessness.

Causes

Chronically homeless people usually suffer from difficult and long-term health conditions. These can include severe mental illnesses, physical ailments, or substance abuse disorders. They are incapable of employment, thus making it even harder to afford housing. Since such individuals are very vulnerable, it is difficult for them to find permanent housing once they lose their homes.

Solutions to chronic homelessness

A proven solution to chronic homelessness is permanent supportive housing. This is a housing scheme that combines housing subsidies with case management and support services. It has not only helped chronically homeless people but has also improved their health and self-esteem. Permanent supportive housing played a huge role in decreasing cases of chronic homelessness by 20 percent.

Episodic homelessness

Definition

Episodic homelessness is a state in which a person has experienced three episodes of homelessness within a single calendar year. After four episodes in a year, the person qualifies as a chronically homeless individual. This type of homelessness usually affects teenagers or young adults struggling with addiction and health issues.

Statistics

Research on shelter usage in New York shows that episodically homeless people experience 4.9 shelter episodes over 3 years, on average. Their average length of stay at a shelter is 54.4 days. Individuals facing episodic homelessness account for just 10 percent of shelter users in New York and Philadelphia.

Causes

Individuals facing episodic homelessness often live on a low minimum wage income, which results in uncertain financial health. They also suffer from unpredictable domestic situations that make it likely for them to leave their homes a couple of times every year. Such homeless individuals also suffer from substance abuse and addiction problems.

Solutions to episodic homelessness

Since this homelessness is episodic, the solutions need to target recurrent causes. Many young people recover from alcoholism or drug abuse, only to relapse into their destructive habits and lose their homes again. In a similar vein, recurrent domestic issues can make it difficult to stick around at home for a lengthy period. Thus, intervention programs and counseling are ideal solutions here. They can ensure that the people at risk of homelessness can stay sober and safe for longer.

Transitional homelessness

Definition

Transitional homelessness is yet another common type of homelessness. It affects individuals going through a significant change in life or a disastrous event. Such changes usually result from an abrupt loss of employment or termination of tenancy. These individuals are likely to be young and end up staying in shelters for a brief period.

Statistics

In 2017, 360,867 people among the homeless population in the USA were living in transitional housing.

Causes

Drastic life changes are the chief factors here. A common one is a sudden loss of employment, which deprives an individual of a steady income. One can rely on one’s savings for only so long. Soon enough, the person has no choice but to take up transitional housing for the time being.

People also find themselves in a state of transitional homelessness when they get evicted suddenly. If they aren’t prepared for it, they will have to bide their time in temporary shelters while they seek permanent housing.

Solutions to transitional homelessness

We cannot do much to prevent the catastrophic changes that force people to enter a state of transitional homelessness. However, their condition can be improved by funding more transitional housing programs. The effectiveness of transitional shelters can be improved by working towards a safer and more supportive environment.

Hidden homelessness

Definition

Hidden homelessness is the unfamiliar fourth type of homelessness. This is the one that goes unreported and undocumented. Individuals in this state are called “provisionally occupied”, too. Specifically, such individuals engage in ‘couch-surfing’. This is the act of temporarily living with others with no guarantees for the long term. They don’t have any immediate prospects of getting permanent accommodation. Any homeless person who stays with friends or relatives because of a lack of housing options falls under this category.

Such individuals comprise the  ‘hidden homeless’ because they don’t access homeless support services. Thus, they don’t feature in official homelessness statistics.

Statistics

According to a study conducted by the Centre of Regional Economics and Research, more than half of homeless people asked said that are experiencing hidden homeless right now, and about nine out of ten homeless individuals said that they had experienced hidden homelessness at least once in their lifetimes.

Causes

The hidden homeless people refuse to access homeless support services, which is why they don’t show up in official figures. This refusal could be down to a sense of embarrassment, mistrust of authority, or stubbornness.

Solutions to hidden homelessness

The best way to solve hidden homelessness is to normalize the concept of accessing help when you are a homeless person in need. Public awareness campaigns on social media and other platforms can help. It is also important to educate ourselves on the state of homelessness.