MINNEAPOLIS – Homelessness is a difficult issue to quantify, but the Wilder Foundation has been trying to do so for more than thirty years through the Minnesota Homeless Study.
It is a statewide count conducted every three years on the last Thursday in October.
“We know that on any given night there are more people who are homeless that we can’t find, but it’s a very comprehensive effort. We have a lot of people working to find as many people as possible on that particular night,” Michelle Decker Gerrard, Senior Research Manager/Co-Director of the Minnesota Homeless Study, said.
The last survey completed in 2023 found that 10,522 Minnesotans were homeless — a 7% drop from the record high in 2018 — but still the second highest since the survey began in 1991.
“I think the most surprising thing demographically is that 7 in 10 people who are homeless in Minnesota are Native American or people of color. That’s really shocking given the demographics of our state,” Decker Gerrard said.
She says they’re getting a better understanding of the problem thanks to a new partnership with six tribes in the state.
“It highlights a lack of affordable housing for these communities and barriers to obtaining housing,” Decker Gerrard said.
The research found that about a third of people experiencing homelessness are not in formal shelter. Families still make up almost half the population and there are fewer children, but more adults are homeless today than in 2018.
“I think there’s a perception that it’s just an urban problem,” Decker Gerrard said.
About a third of the state’s homeless population is in Greater Minnesota. People there appear to exercise more and suffer from long-term homelessness.
“Those we spoke to in Greater Minnesota had even more serious issues they were dealing with than people in the metro, so physical health issues, mental health issues, chemical dependency issues and childhood trauma,” Decker Gerrard said. “If you have really good information about the changing needs of the population, you can respond to them. And we’re really the only place in the country that has been able to do this kind of groundbreaking work.”
