In 2023, the United States faced a severe homelessness crisis, with the number of individuals without a home reaching over 650,000.
This record, the highest since 2007, becomes particularly distressing in winter, with some regions experiencing temperatures dropping below -30 ºC.
Notably, New York City, often referred to as “The Big Apple,” has around 100,000 homeless individuals.
To address this, cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago have set up emergency shelters and public spaces for the unsettled during extreme cold.
Stephen Metraux, a public policy expert, suggests these measures are temporary. He stresses the need for long-term solutions, including stable housing and access to healthcare services, to effectively tackle homelessness.
In Brazil, the homelessness problem has also significantly worsened in the last decade.
The number increased from about 22,000 in 2013 to 227,000 in 2023, an increase of over 1000%.
This data, sourced from the Institute for Applied Economic Research and the Federal Government’s Unified Register, shows a staggering escalation.
However, when compared to the USA, the number of homeless individuals is 186.34% higher, even though the US population is only 54.88% larger than Brazil’s.
Approximately two in every thousand Americans are homeless, compared to one in a thousand in Brazil.
The contrast is evident when comparing major cities like São Paulo and New York. New York’s 100,000 homeless people outnumber São Paulo’s 62,000 by 61.29%.
This number equals the total homeless count in the entire state of São Paulo.
Despite these differences, Metraux identifies a common root cause in both countries: poor income distribution.
He contends that despite its wealth, the USA has not effectively addressed this issue due to uneven wealth distribution.