SALISBURY, Md. - Chronic homelessness has reached an all-time high nationwide, with more than one thousand individuals experiencing homelessness on Maryland's Eastern Shore. These individuals find themselves without a permanent address, whether living on the streets, in wooded encampments, or in homeless shelters.
At a Wednesday evening town hall panel hosted by Salisbury University, students and experts gathered to discuss the pressing issue of homelessness. Jake Day, who observed the problem firsthand as mayor of Salisbury and now serves as Maryland’s Secretary of Housing and Community Development, stressed the root of the problem, "Homelessness is a housing problem. It is a housing problem. Ultimately there are not enough permanent shelters available, and that shortage is always going to cause someone to not be able to lay their head on a space of their own."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has reported that one in every thousand Marylanders is homeless, with the state’s homeless population having increased by 9.6 percent from 2022 to 2023. Of the roughly 5,800 homeless individuals in Maryland, 300 are youths, and nearly 300 are veterans. Amber Green of the Fenix Youth Project suggests these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, noting, "There are a lot of people who have not even made it into the agency to receive help."
Jeff Bingham with the National Coalition on Homelessness pointed out a common thread that underlies the homelessness crisis both here on the Shore and nationwide. "Affordable housing. It has always led to the number one cause of homelessness. And a lot of people who are not in the field or have the privilege to serve like we do don’t understand that. So it’s definitely affordable housing and wages."
There's a potential major development from the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming months. Justices are considering whether towns and cities have the right to ban homeless people from sleeping outdoors.
