Overview of Homelessness is more common than you think.
This NPR It’s Been a Minute episode uses a Real Housewives of Rhode Island argument about whether someone “counted” as homeless to unpack a bigger issue: many Americans think homelessness only means visible street homelessness, but the reality is much broader. Brittany Luse speaks with housing researchers Dr. Margot Kushel (UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative) and Dr. Molly Richard (University of Rhode Island) about the stigma, policy definitions, and political consequences of that narrow public image.
Key Takeaways
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The public idea of homelessness is too narrow.
Many people equate homelessness with tents, encampments, mental illness, or substance use, but homelessness also includes:- staying in shelters
- sleeping in cars
- couch surfing
- doubled-up living with relatives or friends
- unstable temporary arrangements
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Stigma is a major reason people reject the label “homeless.”
Because the word has become highly judgmental and associated with moral failure, people who technically meet federal definitions often insist, “I’m not homeless.” -
Homelessness is a spectrum, not a single condition.
The episode emphasizes that housing insecurity can range from highly visible street homelessness to hidden forms that are still deeply unstable and harmful. -
Children and families are especially affected by narrow definitions.
When schools use a broader definition, the number of children identified as homeless is dramatically higher than the count based on HUD’s narrower “literal homelessness” definition. -
Politics often rewards simplistic, punitive framing.
Some politicians benefit by promising to make homelessness “disappear” rather than addressing the structural causes like housing costs, wages, and inadequate support systems.
The Real Housewives Story That Sparked the Conversation
The episode begins with a scene from The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, where Alicia Carmody says her father left the family homeless when she was a child. Her friend Liz McGraw disputes this, arguing Alicia was “never homeless” because the family stayed with relatives.
That disagreement becomes the entry point for a larger discussion:
- Liz appears to define homelessness as only living on the street.
- Alicia’s experience—losing her home and having to move in with family—still fits a broader understanding of homelessness.
- The public reaction to the scene showed many people relating to Alicia’s story, revealing how common hidden homelessness actually is.
How Homelessness Is Defined
Federal definition
Dr. Kushel explains that HUD’s definition mainly covers:
- unsheltered homelessness: living outside, in encampments, or in cars
- sheltered homelessness: staying in dedicated homeless shelters or temporary housing programs
Broader definitions
Other agencies use broader standards:
- The Department of Education counts children who are doubled up with others as homeless.
- This makes the scale much larger than the public usually realizes.
Why the definition matters
Definitions affect:
- how homelessness is measured
- how much funding is allocated
- which populations are served
- whether leaders can claim the problem is “under control”
Who Is Most Harmed by Narrow Definitions
The guests argue that narrowing homelessness to only the most visible cases harms:
- children in doubled-up households
- families living in unstable arrangements
- people sleeping in cars or temporarily with others
- working people who are still housing insecure
- communities that need policy responses beyond emergency shelters
A striking statistic mentioned:
- 1.5 million children experienced homelessness in the most recent school-year estimate
- School-based counts are 11 times higher than narrow counts in some comparisons
- About 75% of children identified by schools are in doubled-up situations
Why the Public and Politicians Often Miss the Bigger Picture
The episode argues that homelessness is politically convenient to oversimplify because:
- people often want to blame individuals rather than address systems
- visible homelessness is easier to target than hidden instability
- leaders may prefer smaller official numbers because they require fewer resources
- stigma makes the issue easier to sensationalize and harder to solve
Dr. Kushel stresses that America’s homelessness crisis is tied to:
- rising rents
- stagnant wages
- inadequate disability and unemployment supports
- a lack of affordable housing
Pop Culture and Media’s Role
The guests trace how public understanding has shifted over time:
- 1980s: homelessness was often framed as a sudden crisis, addressed through telethons and emergency shelters
- More recent years: social media has made hidden forms of homelessness more visible, with people sharing first-person experiences
- Current media: sensational coverage of visible homelessness can reinforce fear and stigma rather than structural understanding
The film The Florida Project is mentioned as another example of how pop culture can help people understand housing insecurity beyond the stereotypical image.
Solutions the Guests Point Toward
The episode ends by emphasizing that a real response must be structural, not symbolic:
- build more housing
- subsidize housing for those who need it
- expand supportive services
- recognize hidden forms of homelessness
- stop treating homelessness as a moral failure
Dr. Kushel argues that the U.S. can solve parts of this problem the way it has with veterans’ housing—through coordinated investment and policy, not just punishment or public shaming.
Notable Insights
- “There’s this confusion between unsheltered, visible homelessness and the broad experience of homelessness.”
- “It’s become like the Scarlet H.” — a way of describing how stigma has attached itself to the label
- “People who are unsheltered are living their private lives in public.”
- “The rent is too damn high.” — a shorthand for the economic pressure driving housing instability
Bottom Line
This episode argues that homelessness is far more common, varied, and hidden than most people think. The real issue isn’t just who is living on the street—it’s the broader crisis of housing instability that affects children, working adults, families, and people with support systems. Narrow definitions may make the problem look smaller, but they also make it harder to solve.