紐時賞析／全美遊民人口增逾7萬人 房屋租金上漲、移民湧入影響甚劇

美國政府統計，今年一月全美65萬3104人無家可歸，圖爲鳳凰城遊民搭建的帳篷城。(美聯社)

Homelessness Rose to Record Level This Year, Government Says

美政府：2023年全美遊民人口增幅創新高

Homelessness surged this year to the highest level on record, the federal government reported Friday.

美國聯邦政府週五報告稱，今年遊民人數增至史上最高水平。

An annual head count, conducted in January, found the homeless population had increased by more than 70,000 people, or 12%. That is the single largest one-year jump since the Department of Housing and Urban Development began collecting data in 2007, and the increase affected all parts of the homeless population.

今年一月進行的年度人數統計發現，遊民人口增加超過七萬人，即12%。這是美國住房與都市發展部2007年開始收集數據以來最大單年增幅，而且此一增加影響了遊民人口的所有層面。

By the government’s count, 653,104 people in the United States were homeless in January.

美國政府統計，今年一月全美65萬3104人無家可歸。

Biden administration officials and academic experts said the increase reflected both a sharp rise in rents and the end of the extraordinary measures the government had enacted during the pandemic, including financial aid and bans on eviction.

拜登政府官員和學術界專家表示，遊民人口增加反映租金急劇上漲，及政府疫情期間採取的特別措施終止，這些措施包括財務援助和禁止驅逐房客。

“The most significant causes are the shortage of affordable homes and the high cost of housing,” said Jeff Olivet, head of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

美國聯邦遊民問題跨部門委員會負責人奧利維特表示：「最重要原因是可負擔住房短缺及住房成本高昂。」

But some researchers said the rise in homelessness also stemmed from the growing number of migrants entering the homeless services system. That trend has only intensified since the count was taken, as Republican governors, especially Greg Abbott in Texas, have sent more people who have arrived from across the border to Northern cities.

然而，有些研究員表示，遊民人口增加也源自愈來愈多移民進入遊民服務系統。這類趨勢自開始統計後有增無減，特別是德州州長艾伯特等共和黨籍州長將更多從邊境抵達的移民送往北方城市之後。

Some of the sharpest growth in homelessness has occurred in the cities most affected by the influx of migrants, including New York, Denver and Chicago.

一些遊民人數急劇增加現象，發生在受移民涌入影響最嚴重的城市，包括紐約、丹佛和芝加哥。

“Even without the migrant crisis we would have seen some increase, but certainly not to this extent,” said Dennis Culhane, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who has long served as an adviser to the federal government’s annual count.

長期擔任聯邦政府年度人口統計顧問的賓州大學教授卡爾翰表示：「即使沒有移民危機，我們也會看到遊民人口增加，但肯定不會增加到這種程度。」

By the government’s count, 653,104 people in the United States were homeless in January.

美政府統計顯示，今年一月美國有65萬3104個遊民。

Homelessness grew among every group the federal government tracks. It rose among individuals and families with children. It rose among the young and the old. It rose among the chronically homeless and those entering the system for the first time.

聯邦政府追蹤的各羣體，遊民數都在增加。個人和有孩子的家庭無家可歸者增加，年輕人和年長遊民增加，長期無家可歸者或首次進入遊民服務系統的人也增加。

It also rose among veterans, the group that in recent years had experienced the sharpest declines, after a significant expansion of federal aid.

也有愈來愈多退伍軍人成爲遊民。聯邦補助顯著增加後，近年來退伍軍人遊民人數曾歷經最急劇減少。

From 2007 to 2016, homelessness fell every year, by a total of 15%. It then rose by about 6% in the years before the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The one-year rise of 70,000 in 2023 is more than four times greater than any previous increase.

2007至2016年，遊民數逐年減少，總計少15%，之後新冠疫情2020年爆發前幾年間增加6%。2023年一年增加七萬人，是先前增加數字的四倍多。

文／Jason DeParle 譯／羅方妤