unsheltered

[uhn-shel-terd]

adjective

1. not protected or shielded, as from storms or missiles, by a wall, roof, barrier, dense vegetative cover, or the like: The beach is unsheltered from northern winds and gets big waves in late summer.

   Eastside residents now face a steep climb uphill to an unsheltered bus stop if they want to use public transportation.

   The beach is unsheltered from northern winds and gets big waves in late summer.

2. being without a house or lacking permanent housing; houseless; homeless.

   Veterans experiencing homelessness were more likely to be classified as unsheltered—living in cars, public parks, or under highway overpasses.

Sensitive Note

See homeless ( def. ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of unsheltered¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; un- ¹ ( def. ) + sheltered ( def. )

Example Sentences

The number of unsheltered homeless people in the city dropped by an even steeper margin of 7.9%.

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After a full year, not only was the change from homelessness to permanent housing not statistically significant, but so was the shift from unsheltered to sheltered.

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“However, as the initiatives drove a real decline in unsheltered homelessness, they also removed the easiest-to-count unsheltered subpopulation,” likely contributing to the annual count’s growing inaccuracy, the report said.

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So far, the county is on track to meet one its major goals for Measure A, which is for unsheltered homelessness to fall 30% from 2024 to 2030.

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The latest data from the Community Partnership, an organisation that works to reduce homelessness, shows about 800 people are unsheltered, while about 4,300 others have some sort of temporary housing.

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