New Dashboard Shows Racial Disparities in Homelessness

Explore ICA’s Racial Disparities in Homelessness dashboard to review rates of homelessness of different race and ethnicity groups in Minnesota and your CoC.

Recent research from the National Alliance to End Homelessness shows that most racial minority groups consistently experience homelessness at higher rates than whites. African Americans made up more than 40 percent of the population experiencing homelessness in the January 2017 Point in Time Count, while only making up 13 percent of the general population in the US.

Acknowledging the lasting impact of systemic racism on current racial disparities in homelessness is an important first step towards addressing the issue. Further research is needed to better understand the underlying causes of these disparities. In 2016, the Center for Social Innovation launched SPARC (Supporting Partnerships for Anti-Racist Communities)to contribute to these research efforts. A recent report released by SPARC explores pathways into homelessness and barriers to exiting homelessness for people of color. All ICA dashboards can be found on the Minnesota Data Portal page.