For Countless Americans, Living In Their Vehicles Has Become “The New Normal”(Source endoftheamericandream.com) Once again tonight, countless numbers of Americans will sleep in their vehicles, and this is a problem that is getting worse with each passing year.  According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the homeless population in the United States hit 552,830 in 2018, but many believe that the true number is actually a lot higher.  Because in order to accurately count the homeless you have got to find them first, and many homeless do not want to be found.  But even if the HUD figure is accurate, it is still a great national tragedy to have such a high number of homeless, and a large percentage of those homeless Americans are living in their vehicles. Homeless Americans that are living in their vehicles often do not count as being officially “unemployed” and they often have a very difficult time receiving government benefits because they lack a permanent mailing address. In addition to the growing number of Americans that are living in their vehicles because they are out of options, the RV Industry Association says that there are also now a million Americans living in their RVs full-time. Of course a lot of Americans are living in their RVs by choice, but others are doing it because a traditional home is not an affordable alternative at this point. In recent years, housing costs have risen far more rapidly than wages have, and this has forced an increasing number of Americans on to the streets.  According to a report that came out earlier this year, the average American wage earner cannot afford to buy a home “in more than 70 percent of the country”.