Increasing Latino Homelessness— What’s Happening, Why, and What to Do About It

1 Note that the views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U. [...] In heavily Latino communities like Los Angeles County, Latinos represent 49 percent of the overall population, but were just 36 percent of the population experiencing homelessness in 2020 and 44 percent of the population experiencing homelessness in 2022. [...] Even in jurisdictions where there were sharp declines in overall homelessness, such as in the Texas Balance of State CoC and the Santa Ana, Anaheim/Orange County CoC, the decline in Latino homelessness was more muted than declines in other populations. [...] By late 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented that risk of infection, hospitalization, and death were twice as high for Latinos as compared to their White counterparts.xv Overrepresentation in the essential workforce,xvi lack of access to care, overcrowded housing, and other factors made this group particularly vulnerable to health risks. [...] If job losses contributed to increases in Latino homelessness, are households encountering barriers to securing new housing after returning to work? Since Latinos were disproportionately impacted by COVID, are incidences of long COVID impacting some people’s ability to fully return to work and reconnect to housing? These questions need further exploration to determine the full impact of COVID on L.