Homelessness: A Gray Area

If you have a roof over your head, you can’t be homeless, right? That’s not always the case. Homelessness is a complicated issue and, not always easy to define by government standards.

According to the Center for American Progress, shared housing situations among the poor in America are commonplace. Specifically, this refers to a scenario like a mother raising her children in her parents’ home. Others might stay with other relatives (grandparents, cousins, aunts, or uncles, friends, or acquaintances.)

These shared housing situations are often referred to as being “doubled-up,” and in some circumstances they’re considered a form of homelessness due to their high levels of instability. “Doubling up” is defined by the Center as an individual or family living in a housing unit with extended family, friends, and other non-relatives due to economic hardship, earning no more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level.

The doubled-up population also has also been growing steadily, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In 2008 there was an 8.5-percent increase in the number of people in families who were sharing the housing of others due to economic hardship compared to 2005.

Sadly these living situations are often not a matter of choice, but rather one of necessity.
These “doubled up” families represent a stark reality in the housing market. 51 percent of low-income renters and 43 percent of low-income homeowners in 2007 spent more than half their income on housing.

And the recession hasn’t helped their cause. Elevated rates of unemployment, long-term unemployment, and underemployment are greatly harming these families as many find themselves unable to keep up with mortgage and rent payments.

The worst part about this situation is that only some of these families and individuals are counted as homeless, but maybe they all should be?

According to the 2010 Point in Time Homeless Count of Hoosiers, an annual census designed to count the number of homeless in a region, there were approximately 585 people experiencing homelessness in northeast Indiana.

Per the count, “homeless” is defined as anyone staying in a shelter, living on the streets or in a place unfit for human habitation. “Doubled up” and temporarily housed folks do not count as “homeless” unless they are staying in a motel as an alternative to a shelter that is paid for with public funds.

Here is the breakdown of the results of the census:

• 418 households
• 337 single adults
• 55% male/ 45% female
• 81 families
• 155 Children in families
To me, these figures are misleading because, according to the state, they don’t account for “doubled up” families. Think of the families who are not being accounted for, many whom are teetering on the edge of homelessness.

To read more about this trend, check out the Center for American Progress article.