The number of people of color who were homeless declined last year in Clark County, but the population still faces housing instability at disproportionate rates.
An October report from Council for the Homeless showed that homelessness among people of color decreased by nearly 9 percent last year.
Forty-two percent of the people who experienced homelessness in 2023 were people of color — an overrepresentation as they account for approximately 27 percent of Clark County’s population. People of color face disproportionate barriers to housing stability including housing discrimination, higher rates of poverty, language barriers, and cultural beliefs and practices that do not align with a system designed by and for the majority-white population, according to the report.
According to the report, Black, Indigenous and Pacific Islander residents are more likely than white people to experience homelessness locally.
It’s hard to pinpoint why the number of people of color who are homeless declined between 2022 and 2023, according to Council for the Homeless.
In 2023, agencies and nonprofits dedicated to helping these populations ensured quick intervention and wraparound support, said Sunny Wonder, chief operating officer of Council for the Homeless.
“We know that from 2021 to 2023, the eviction moratorium, rent assistance and the federal stimulus were at play in helping people stabilize,” Wonder said.
The report also showed that people of color engaged with services in 2023 at a higher rate than other groups of homeless people, including families, seniors, youth and veterans.
Twelve percent more Black, Indigenous and people of color received rent stabilization assistance in 2023 than 2022, although rent assistance availability dramatically decreased last year, according to data. Nearly 830 people stabilized through rental assistance were people of color.
Thirty-six percent of those who entered one of Clark County’s housing programs last year were people of color. In 2020, Council for the Homeless made a call for an increased focus on assistance for people of color and families.
“That focus continues,” according to the report.
