The total number of homeless individuals remained relatively stable during this time period, but homelessness increased among families.  HUD administration officials point to the current economic crisis as the cause of the rise in homelessness among families.  While homelessness is still largely concentrated in urban areas, large increases occurred in rural and suburban areas that were not prepared to deal with large numbers of newly homeless families.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071102099.html