According to a report issued in February 2007 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 754,000 people in America are living in emergency shelters, transitional housing and on the streets on any given night.

Families with children accounted for one-third of those who sought emergency shelter or transitional housing between February and April 2005, the most recent period studied.

A Sacramento-area study by the Community Services Planning Council for the same period, reported 2,145 to 11,109 homeless people in Sacramento County, with 1,140 to 2,200 of that number considered "chronically homeless."

Unemployment, low wages, a shortage of available housing, domestic disputes, mental illness, drug abuse and financial problems all contribute to the problem.

Volunteers of America is committed to seeking solutions to homelessness, including housing referrals through our Housing Assistance Program, and substance abuse outreach counseling.

For immediate needs, Volunteers of America Greater Sacramento operates emergency shelters.

Transitional and permanent supportive housing programs also are available.