Most homeless Americans are working families, not who you think

By Christopher Fee

What image comes to mind when you think about homelessness? Although the idea of the terrifying, drug-addled street person is what many envision when they hear the term “homeless,” this is simply not the statistical reality.

The truth is that lack of affordable housing and low wages are actually the main drivers of the homelessness crisis in America today .

While those experiencing chronic, recurring homelessness often may have serious contributing factors such as addiction or mental illness, this group tends to be only about a quarter of the total number of unhoused people .

The memorable and fear-inducing stereotype then does a great disservice to addressing homelessness effectively in our country. It was epitomized by a recent Executive Order that based an