A resident on supplemental security income receiving $579 monthly can afford monthly rent of no more than $174—far below South Carolina's Fair Market Rent for a 1-bedroom apartment or efficiency. Over 40,000 South Carolina families can't afford to pay rent— 42% of all renters in the state. Over the last few years, estimates of the number of people who are homeless in SC at a single point in time range from 7,500 to 13,000 (data from regional coalitions). A rough estimate of the number of beds in homeless shelters or transitional housing programs in the state is 2,100. The state targets almost no funding to address homelessness and federal resources are administered across a number of agencies with little or no coordination.     The lack of a state policy office results in the loss of funding and therefore services and housing in different areas of the state. The lack of state direction and resources also makes it difficult to address systemic barriers to improved treatment such as the lack of capacity among state agencies and nonprofits to provide sufficient housing and services to meet the complex needs of South Carolina’s homeless population. There is an uneven distribution of services in rural and urban areas of South Carolina and a lack of attention to the particular needs of individuals who are homeless when other policies are developed to address quality of life such as education and economic development.