Myths and facts
Addiction and Mental Health PDF Print E-mail

Myth: All homeless people are mentally ill or substance abusers.

Fact: Around a quarter of homeless people are mentally ill, and about 40% are alcohol or substance abusers, with around 15% suffering both disabilities.
 
Employment PDF Print E-mail
Myth: Homeless people don't work and get most of their money from public assistance programs.
Fact: Homeless people do work, and a relatively small percentage of them receive government assistance.
 
Homeless Population Demographics PDF Print E-mail
Myth: Homeless people are mostly single men.
Fact: Families constitute a large and growing percentage of the homeless population.
 
The Chronic Theory PDF Print E-mail

Myth: Homeless people are a fixed population who are usually homeless for long periods of time.

Fact: The homeless population is quite diverse in terms of their length of homelessness and the number of times they cycle in and out of homelessness.
 
The Magnet Theory PDF Print E-mail

Myth: Setting up services for homeless people will cause homeless people from all around to migrate to a city.

Fact: Studies have shown that homeless people do not migrate for services. To the extent they do move to new areas, it is because they are searching for work, have family in the area, or other reasons not related to services.
 


FAQs

Does the District of Columbia do enough to meet homeless people’s needs?
The District has made some progress in the last few years: The D.C. Council enacted the Homeless Services Reform Act of 2005 and has allocated $7.5 million for emergency rental assistance; the Fenty Administration has committed to build 6,000 units of affordable housing and recently named a Housing Coordinator to lead this process. However, mental health and substance abuse treatment is woefully inadequate. The city’s emergency shelter system has only 1,500 shelter beds available year-round for single adults in D.C. and 163 emergency shelter units for families.