The number of people living on streets in America increased by 2.3 percent in 2018, with about 4,300 more individuals sleeping without a roof over their head on a given night, according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development report on the state of homelessness released Monday.
The report downplayed the increase, which contributed to a slight increase to the overall number of homeless in the U.S. About 553,000 people did not have a home to call their own on a given night in 2018.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson noted though that homelessness has trended downward since 2010, with a 13 percent decline over the last eight years.
“I’m not sure that victory is the right word to use here,” said Carson on a press call Tuesday morning, adding, “We still have a long way to go, even though significant progress has been made.”
Separately, Pam Patenaude, HUD’s deputy secretary and a longtime veteran of the housing policy world, resigned shortly before Carson’s call with press. Pantenaude served in the position for a little over a year.
In a statement she posted to Twitter, Pantenaude said that she will continue in her position through the end of the year, and that serving as HUD deputy secretary “has been the highlight of my 35-year career in housing.”
HUD officials declined to take questions about Pantendaude’s departure on Tuesday’s call.
