Behind the visible statistics of Houston’s homeless population lies an “invisible” crisis affecting 141,000 residents who are currently couch surfing, living in cars, or short-term motels and shelters. New data from Rice University’s Kinder Institute sheds light on the sheer scale of the problem and reveals a racial disparity in the numbers.
The results are based on a survey of nearly 8,800 residents in Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties. About one in 20 residents fell into this “invisible” category over the past year, a rate that more than doubles for households earning under $50,000.
Dan Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center, who led the survey, said those experiencing temporary homelessness are impacted to a similar extent as those going through visible homelessness.
“We see homelessness when it’s on our streets, under our highways and in our shelters,” Potter said. “Temporary homelessness, on the other hand, is invisible. However, housing instability, whether we see it or not, matters for people’s health, for children’s education, and for economic mobility.”
Black residents in Houston
For Black Houstonians, a separate crisis is unfolding. More than 7,000 Black residents lost their homes, according to a companion report from the Kinder Institute. The reversal is happening as insurance premiums climb faster than home values.
Additionally, Black individuals are disproportionately represented among those experiencing homelessness, accounting for more than half of the total population, according to newly released data from the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH). The report identified over 3,300 people experiencing homelessness in its annual “snapshot” count.
City Council Member Tiffany Thomas, who chairs the city’s Housing and Affordability Committee and has held mobile care days for unhoused residents in her district, said the data reflects what she has seen firsthand. But, in order to address homelessness, in which Black Houstonians are overrepresented, empowering the community is key, per Thomas…