 Many in this particular group have an elevated risk of ending up in this situation because of challenges they dealt with in their 20s and 30s that limited long-term earning potential. Culhane points out that this population faced back-to-back recessions in the 1980s and high unemployment rates. As a result, many have lived on the streets for several years, while others have been teetering on the edge of homelessness for quite a while.