Posted on December 11, 2017 by Brennan Weiss in Business Insider Business Insider, By Brennan Weiss Walk the streets of virtually any major city in the US and you are likely to encounter people who are homeless. Homelessness is on the rise in the US, especially in Los Angeles where severe affordable housing shortages exist. Overall, homelessness increased by .7% this year compared to 2016, NPR reported. One night earlier this year, more than 550,000 homeless people were recorded across the country, according to a recent report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.