It is very difficult to accurately determine how many people are homeless. It is estimated that there are approximately 4,000 persons who are homeless on any given day in Philadelphia. This includes only those who are in shelters or on the streets. It does not include those who are in transitional housing, low-demand residences, or in substandard/unfit living conditions.
In 2005, the City’s Office of Emergency Shelter and Services served 14,986 homeless people (including both single adults and family members) through its emergency shelter system. Of this number, 9,468 were adults without children, 2,011 were heads of households, and 3,507 were children.
Approximately 20 percent of the single individuals and 13 percent of the families were “chronically homeless” (homeless for one year or longer or four episodes of homelessness in three years).
This information was taken from the website of Project H.O.M.E.
