Help for the homeless.

• Author: Monga, Nathan
• Position: TRENDS

Each year in the United States, approximately 3 million people, 1.3 million of them children, spend nights without shelter. Mental illness and drug addiction drive much of the homelessness in this country.

Numerous studies, however, point to an additional factor: the lack of safe and affordable housing. Production of low-cost rental units has lagged behind demand since 1980, with 9.9 million low-income renters competing for 4.8 million low-cost rental units in 2010.

Homelessness rates vary regionally, but all states offer some level of public or subsidized housing, paid for with a combination of federal grants and state taxes. Many states also have helped municipalities establish shelters with beds and soup kitchens.

Some states are focusing on preventive measures. Permanent supportive housing, for example, provides shelter and mental health services to those who need them. Rapid rehousing programs offer financial support to at-risk individuals to prevent homelessness or to quickly rehouse families who are homeless. Such strategies have been shown to reduce the number of people sleeping outside and in homeless assistance programs, providing long-term savings for the state.

Over the past few...