Homelessness

Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. The general category includes disparate situations, including:

• living on the streets, also known as sleeping rough (primary homelessness)
• moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family, and emergency accommodation (secondary homelessness or colloquially known as couch surfing)
• living in boarding houses without a private bathroom or security of tenure (tertiary homelessness)
• not having access to permanent or secure housing
• internally displaced persons, who leave their domiciles because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country's borders

The legal status of homeless people varies from place to place. United States government homeless enumeration studies also include people who sleep in a public or private place, which is not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. Homelessness and poverty are interrelated. There is no methodological consensus on counting homeless people and identifying their needs; therefore, in most cities, only estimated homeless populations are known.

In 2005, an estimated 100 million people worldwide were homeless, and as many as one billion people (one in 6.5 at the time) live as squatters, refugees, or in temporary shelters.