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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Lifetime Prevalence of Homelessness in the United States

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  • Vincent A. Fusaro

    (Boston College School of Social Work)

  • Helen G. Levy

    (University of Michigan)

  • H. Luke Shaefer

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

Homelessness in the United States is often examined using cross-sectional, point-in-time samples. Any experience of homelessness is a risk factor for adverse outcomes, so it is also useful to understand the incidence of homelessness over longer periods. We estimate the lifetime prevalence of homelessness among members of the Baby Boom cohort (n = 6,545) using the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative survey of older Americans. Our analysis indicates that 6.2 % of respondents had a period of homelessness at some point in their lives. We also identify dramatic disparities in lifetime incidence of homelessness by racial and ethnic subgroups. Rates of homelessness were higher for non-Hispanic blacks (16.8 %) or Hispanics of any race (8.1 %) than for non-Hispanic whites (4.8 %; all differences significant with p

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent A. Fusaro & Helen G. Levy & H. Luke Shaefer, 2018. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Lifetime Prevalence of Homelessness in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2119-2128, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:55:y:2018:i:6:d:10.1007_s13524-018-0717-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0717-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Jeffrey Olivet & Catriona Wilkey & Molly Richard & Marc Dones & Julia Tripp & Maya Beit-Arie & Svetlana Yampolskaya & Regina Cannon, 2021. "Racial Inequity and Homelessness: Findings from the SPARC Study," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 82-100, January.
    5. Helen Levy, 2022. "The long‐run prevalence of food insufficiency among older Americans," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 575-590, June.
    6. Mejia-Lancheros, Cilia & Lachaud, James & Woodhall-Melnik, Julia & O'Campo, Patricia & Hwang, Stephen W. & Stergiopoulos, Vicky, 2021. "Longitudinal interrelationships of mental health discrimination and stigma with housing and well-being outcomes in adults with mental illness and recent experience of homelessness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    7. April Jackson & Bridget Callea & Nicholas Stampar & Abigail Sanders & Alberto De Los Rios & Jake Pierce, 2020. "Exploring Tiny Homes as an Affordable Housing Strategy to Ameliorate Homelessness: A Case Study of the Dwellings in Tallahassee, FL," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-22, January.
    8. Rebekah A. Kaufman & Mahwish Mallick & Jarvis Thanex Louis & Mollie Williams & Nancy Oriol, 2024. "The Role of Street Medicine and Mobile Clinics for Persons Experiencing Homelessness: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(6), pages 1-13, June.
    9. Devin Q. Rutan & Matthew Desmond, 2021. "The Concentrated Geography of Eviction," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 64-81, January.
    10. MacConnachie, Lauren & Zhang, Yuan S. & Farina, Mateo & Gutierrez, Carmen & Hoover, Andrew & He, Yuelin & Aiello, Allison E. & Noppert, Grace A., 2024. "The association between incarceration and housing insecurity and advanced immune age during late life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    11. Earl James Edwards, 2021. "Who Are the Homeless? Centering Anti-Black Racism and the Consequences of Colorblind Homeless Policies," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-16, September.
    12. Siu-Ming Chan & Hung Wong & Yikang Chen & Mun-Yu Vera Tang, 2023. "Determinants of depression and anxiety in homeless people: A population survey of homeless people in Hong Kong," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(5), pages 1145-1156, August.
    13. Barrett A. Lee & Marybeth Shinn & Dennis P. Culhane, 2021. "Homelessness as a Moving Target," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 8-26, January.
    14. Alberton, Amy M. & Angell, G. Brent & Gorey, Kevin M. & Grenier, Stéphane, 2020. "Homelessness among Indigenous peoples in Canada: The impacts of child welfare involvement and educational achievement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    15. Lingwei Cheng & Cameron Drayton & Alexandra Chouldechova & Rhema Vaithianathan, 2024. "Algorithm-Assisted Decision Making and Racial Disparities in Housing: A Study of the Allegheny Housing Assessment Tool," Papers 2407.21209, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2024.

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