Homelessness In Lincoln
In Lincoln, Nebraska, as in the rest of the United States, the homeless and near-homeless population includes people from all walks of life.In the most recent Point In Time count, designed to measure the extent of homelessness in the community on a single day, this was the face of homelessness in Lincoln:
*834 people in 621 households were homeless
*Nearly a third were children under the age of 19
*8% were US Military Veterans
*22% of the households were chronically homeless
These numbers do not include the many people in our community who are near-homeless and have few resources to sustain long-term stable housing.
During a recent two-year period, there were at least 4,749 individuals in Lincoln who experienced homelessness. To learn the personal stories of some of those individuals, view the video “Do You Really See Me?”. The video is a production by the Human Services Federation: Religious Affinity Group.
People become homeless for a variety of reasons. Economic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and a lack of affordable housing are common causes. Social and medical factors such as domestic violence, lack of adequate, affordable health care, mental health issues and addictions can also contribute.