PROVIDENCE (AP) – Homelessness in Rhode Island has declined by 4.2%, federal housing officials said Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its annual homeless assessment report to Congress.
In Rhode Island, 1,055 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2019, which is down 4.2% since 2018 and down 17.7% since 2010, according to HUD.
Neighboring Massachusetts saw one of the largest declines nationwide in the number of homeless people, with 552 fewer individuals, though the report notes that the state had a “very high” rate of homelessness among families. Forty-one out of every 10,000 people in Massachusetts families experienced homelessness in 2019, it said.
The total number of homeless people in Massachusetts was estimated at nearly 18,500, a 8% decrease since 2018 but an 11% increase since 2010.
Nationally, homelessness increased 3% between 2018 and 2019, to roughly 568,000 people. HUD said that while homelessness in most states declined, a 16% increase in California, or about 21,000 people, drove up the national figure.
The number of homeless families with children decreased in Rhode Island. Veteran homelessness and chronic, or long-term, homelessness decreased as well. Most homeless people included in the state’s count were located in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs, while 71 people were unsheltered.
