Homelessness is often assumed to be an urban phenomenon because homeless people are more numerous, more geographically concentrated, and more visible in urban areas. However, many people experience homelessness and housing distress in America's small towns and rural areas. Some of what has been learned in recent years about the causes, consequences, and strategies for combating homelessness in rural areas is summarized below. Resources for further study are also provided.

DEFINITIONS AND DEMOGRAPHICS Understanding rural homelessness requires a more flexible definition of homelessness. There are far fewer shelters in rural areas; therefore, people experiencing homelessness are less likely to live on the street or in a shelter, and more likely to live in a car or camper, or with relatives in overcrowded or substandard housing. Restricting definitions of homelessness to include only those who are literally homeless - that is, on the streets or in shelters - does not fit well with the rural reality, and also may exclude many rural communities from accessing federal dollars to address homelessness.

Studies comparing urban and rural homeless populations have shown that homeless people in rural areas are more likely to be white, female, married, currently working, homeless for the first time, and homeless for a shorter period of time (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1996). Other research indicates that families, single mothers, and children make up the largest group of people who are homeless in rural areas (Vissing, 1996). Homelessness among Native Americans and migrant workers is also largely a rural phenomenon. Findings also include higher rates of domestic violence and lower rates of alcohol and substance abuse.

CAUSES Rural homelessness, like urban homelessness, is the result of poverty and a lack of affordable housing. In 1997, the non-metropolitan poverty rate was higher than the rate inside metropolitan areas (15.9% and 12.6% respectively); it was also higher than the national poverty rate of 13.3% (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). Rural homelessness is most pronounced in rural regions that are primarily agricultural; regions whose economies are based on declining extractive industries such as mining, timber, or fishing; and regions experiencing economic growth -- for example, areas with industrial plants that attract more workers than jobs available, and areas near urban centers that attract new businesses and higher income residents, thereby driving up taxes and living expenses (Aron and Fitchen, 1996).

A lack of decent affordable housing underlies both rural and urban homelessness. While housing costs are lower in rural areas, so are rural incomes, leading to a similarly high rent burdens. Problems of housing quality also contribute to rural homelessness: in rural areas, 23% of poor homeowners households and 27% of poor renter households live in inadequate housing, compared to 17% and 22% in urban areas (Aron and Fitchen, 1996).

Rural residential histories reveal that homelessness is often precipitated by a structural or physical housing problem jeopardizing health or safety; when families relocate to safer housing, the rent is often too much to manage and they experience homelessness again while searching for housing that is both safe and affordable. Other trends affecting rural homelessness include the distance between low-cost housing and employment opportunities; lack of transportation; decline in homeownership; restrictive land-use regulations and housing codes; rising rent burdens; and insecure tenancy resulting from changes in the local real estate market (for example, the displacement of trailer park residents) (Fitchen, 1992).

POLICY ISSUES Efforts to end rural homelessness are complicated by isolation, lack of awareness, and lack of resources. Helpful initiatives would include broadening the definition of homelessness to include those in temporary and/or dilapidated facilities, increasing outreach to isolated areas, and increasing networking and awareness on a national level. Ultimately, however, ending homelessness in rural areas requires jobs that pay a living wage, adequate income supports for those who cannot work, affordable housing, access to health care, and transportation.

RESOURCES: Aron, Laudan Y. and Janet M. Fitchen. "Rural Homelessness: A Synopsis," in Homelessness in America, Oryx Press, 1996. Available for $43.50 from the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1612 K Street, NW, #1004, Washington, DC 20008-2802; 202/775-1322. First, Richard, Beverly Toomey, and John Rife. Preliminary Findings on Rural Homelessness, 1990. Available, for free, from 300 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road , 1050 Carmack Rd., Columbus, OH 43210; 614/292-4033. Fitchen, Janet. "On the Edge of Homelessness: Rural Poverty and Housing Insecurity," Rural Sociology 57 (1992) 173-93. Available for $20.00 from Professor Raybel Burdge, Rural Sociological Society, Dept. of Sociology, Arntzen Hall, Room 510, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9081; 360/650-7571. Kentucky Housing Corporation. Kentucky Homeless Survey- Preliminary Findings, 1993. Available, for free, from the Kentucky Housing Corporation, 1231 Louisville Rd., Frankfort, KY 40601-6191; 502/564-7630 ext.348. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Poverty in the United States: 1997. Current Population Reports, Series P60-201, 1998. Available, free, from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Income Statistics Branch, Washington, DC, 20233-0001; 301/763-8576, or at http://www.census.gov/hhes/ww w/poverty.html. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Economic and Community Development. Rural Homelessness: Focusing on the Needs of the Rural Homeless, 1996. Available, for free, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service, Rural Economic and Community Development, 14th St. and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-1533; 202/690-1533. Vissing, Yvonne. Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Homeless Children and Families in Small-Town America, 1996. Available for $16.96 (paperback) from The University Press of Kentucky, 663 S. Limestone St., Lexington, KY 40508-4008, 800/839-6855. NCH Fact Sheet #13 Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, March 1999