by Jack Preisser
On a single night of January, 2024, a survey by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found 771,480 Americans experiencing homelessness. The homeless population grew by 18% from 2023 to 2024 (USAFacts, 2025). Among those hundreds of thousands of Americans are many people with disabilities. Roughly half of homeless individuals live with an intellectual or physical disability, and people with disabilities expereince homelessness at a rate that is two and a half times higher than that for the overall population of the United States (Henry et al, 2022).
In 2023, Minnesota’s homeless population of ‘a given night’ was estimated to be 10,522 and one third of those homeless individuals were not staying in a formal shelter ( 2023 Minnesota Homeless Study). In January of 2025, the City of St. Paul physically demolished a homeless encampment, citing ‘health risks’ like cleanliness, fire danger, and risk of extreme cold (WCCO – CBS Minnesota 2025). However, people being displaced do not just disappear.
Homeless shelters provide necessary support to homeless people, such as housing, food, and emotional wellness. Rice County, Minnesota, which includes Faribault and most of Northfield, (with a population of 67,097 in 2020) has the Community Action Center (CAC) of Northfield and Faribault which assists people in finding short term and long term housing. People experiencing homelessness and with disabilities experience greater challenges in attempts to reach homeless shelters and shelters may be unequipped to accomodate their needs. In the event that a homeless person with a disability is denied access to a shelter, they are more likely than not to live in an environment which is dangerous for their health and well-being (Naccho Voice 2019).
Another compounding factor is employment. Unemployment rates are higher among disabled Americans and there are federal policies which legalize subminimum wages for Americans receiving disability benefits, resulting in higher rates of poverty and homelessness (Naccho Voice 2019). A Study by the University of Southern California found that 46% of unsheltered people (homeless individuals living outside of shelters) identified unemployment and/or finances as primary reason for being unhoused (USC Homelessness Policy Research Institute 2020).
Homelessness is an important and growing concern in the United States and intesects with disability and accessibility in ways which greatly affect people with disabilities.