Research shows that nearly half (44%) of California’s homeless population is at least 50 years of age, individually. And, with the median age of its unhoused people being 47, it is clear the Gold State’s homeless population is aging. As an aside, the average Californian age is 36.7.
Moving on, the male victims of houselessness in California are around two times the size of their female counterparts. And, reports show that non-white groups are overrepresented with Latino making 35% of the homeless population, Black making 26% and Native American, 12%. It is important to mention that while Black Americans have a 26%-share of the Gold State’s homeless population, it shockingly makes only 6% of the general population of the state.
Read: Should We Be Kind or Unkind to Homeless People
A majority of California’s homeless have been found to have been unhoused before, showing the severity of California’s homeless crisis. Some of the victims experience long periods of homelessness that lasts for years. In truth, a good deal of them are chronically homeless.
Further, some homeless people reported that before becoming homeless, they were couch-surfing or had moved in with family and friends (doubling up), in precarious situations. Others with leases reported a median of only 10 days’ notice that they were going to lose their housing, while people without leases reported a median of only one day of warning. Lease here includes mortgage.
