KarunaNews Story

At the height of the pandemic, the number of renters most vulnerable to displacement reached record levels in the US. But homelessness didn’t explode: In fact, the number of people entering homeless shelters declined during that same period. And the “eviction tsunami” that many housing advocates feared never materialized. The federal government used eviction moratorium orders and emergency rental assistance, among other resources, to stop millions of people from losing their housing during the COVID-19 crisis. While the emergency response did not solve the housing problems for the nation’s least-well-off households, it did hold off a tidal wave of homelessness and despair. While that is a success story, there is continuing concern: Homelessness is again rising after many of the federal interventions have expired and as housing prices remain high in many parts of the country.