Federal officials say the number of Americans and Tennesseans who have experienced homelessness has dropped 11 percent since 2010, and they attribute the decline to President Barack Obama’s Opening Doors initiative.
But critics nationally and in Chattanooga question the U.S. and Tennessee figures in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest Annual Homeless Assessment Report.
The report says some communities are “making significant progress.” But it also acknowledges others struggle because of a “crisis” in the lack of affordable housing, budget shortfalls and what officials characterize as “slow adoption of best practices.”
Figures are based on HUD’s annual “point-in-time” estimates, which attempt to measure the breadth of homelessness on a single night in January. The report includes families staying in homeless shelters and families identified by volunteers who survey streets, parks, all-night businesses and other places where homeless people gather.
HUD says Tennessee communities reported 9,123 persons experienced homelessness, representing an 11 percent decline since 2010 when Obama’s “comprehensive strategy” to prevent and end homelessness was launched.