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

美国政府统计，今年一月全美65万3104人无家可归，图为凤凰城游民搭建的帐篷城。(美联社)

Homelessness Rose to Record Level This Year, Government Says

美政府：2023年全美游民人口增幅创新高

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

美国联邦政府周五报告称，今年游民人数增至史上最高水平。

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.

今年一月进行的年度人数统计发现，游民人口增加超过七万人，即12%。这是美国住房与都市发展部2007年开始收集数据以来最大单年增幅，而且此一增加影响了游民人口的所有层面。

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

美国政府统计，今年一月全美65万3104人无家可归。

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.

拜登政府官员和学术界专家表示，游民人口增加反映租金急剧上涨，及政府疫情期间采取的特别措施终止，这些措施包括财务援助和禁止驱逐房客。

“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.

美国联邦游民问题跨部门委员会负责人奥利维特表示：「最重要原因是可负担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，有些研究员表示，游民人口增加也源自愈来愈多移民进入游民服务系统。这类趋势自开始统计后有增无减，特别是德州州长艾伯特等共和党籍州长将更多从边境抵达的移民送往北方城市之后。

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.

一些游民人数急剧增加现象，发生在受移民涌入影响最严重的城市，包括纽约、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.

长期担任联邦政府年度人口统计顾问的宾州大学教授卡尔翰表示：「即使没有移民危机，我们也会看到游民人口增加，但肯定不会增加到这种程度。」

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

美政府统计显示，今年一月美国有65万3104个游民。

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.

联邦政府追踪的各群体，游民数都在增加。个人和有孩子的家庭无家可归者增加，年轻人和年长游民增加，长期无家可归者或首次进入游民服务系统的人也增加。

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

也有愈来愈多退伍军人成为游民。联邦补助显著增加后，近年来退伍军人游民人数曾历经最急剧减少。

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，游民数逐年减少，总计少15%，之后新冠疫情2020年爆发前几年间增加6%。2023年一年增加七万人，是先前增加数字的四倍多。

文／Jason DeParle 译／罗方妤