Statistics from Stories from the
Table Production
By Joshua Bledsoe and the Theater
Department at Blue Ridge
Community College
• A recent report found that on one
night in 2017 there were 549,928
homeless people in America.
This is a conservative estimate.
• In 2017 the number of homeless
people in the United States
increased for the first time since
2010.
• Dennis Culhane is a researcher
and a principal investigator on
homelessness reports that are
presented to Congress annually.
• The National Center on Family
Homelessness says that one in
every 30 children in the United
States is homeless. Half of them
are younger than six years old.
• HUD reports that on any given
night, over 138,000 of the
homeless in the U.S. are children
under the age of 18.
• A 2017 study surveyed more than
30,000 students at 70 community
colleges in 24 states. It found that
13-14% of community college
students were homeless.
• That same study found that
almost 50% of community college
students were housing insecure,
meaning they’ve missed rent
payments or couch-surfed from
place to place.
• The survey also found that twothirds of community college
students are food insecure,
meaning they often lack the
resources to properly feed
themselves.
• According to the National Law
Center on Homelessness and
Poverty (NLCHP), more than 90
percent of homeless women are
victims of severe physical or sexual
abuse, and escaping that abuse is a
leading cause of their
homelessness.
• 50% of the homeless population
is over the age of 50.
• Over 57,000 veterans are
homeless each night, according
to HUD.
• 1/8 of the nation’s supply of lowincome housing has been
permanently lost since 2001. The
U.S. needs at least seven million
more affordable apartments for
low-income families.
• It is estimated that 25% of the
homeless population have jobs.
• The USDA defines food
insecurity as a state in which
“consistent access to adequate
food is limited by a lack of money
and other resources at times
during the year.”
• As of 2016, 41.2 million
Americans live in food-insecure
households, including 28.3
million adults and 12.9 million
children.
• 1 in 6 people in America face
hunger.
• HUD estimated that in 2017 there
were over 900 homeless families
in NC.
• According to the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban
Development, the homeless
population in NC in 2017 was
8,962. This is believed to be a
conservative estimate.
• 10% of NC’s homeless are
veterans.
• It is estimated that there are
250+ homeless youth in
Henderson County.
• It is estimated that 17% of NC’s
homeless suffer from a serious
mental illness.
• In North Carolina, 17.3% of
households experience food
th
insecurity. This is the 5 highest
in the US.
• According to the North Carolina
Association of Feeding America
Food Banks there are 13,100
Henderson County residents
suffering from food insecurity.
That is more than 12% of the
population.