According to Part 1 of the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, rural homelessness is declining, and the number of individuals receiving shelter is increasing. In 2014, rural areas experienced a 4.1 percent decrease in homelessness and were underrepresented within the national homeless population. Unsheltered homeless families were overrepresented in rural areas and in the rural homeless population in general, and the number of chronically homeless individuals in rural areas increased. The level of success that different states have seen in ending and preventing homelessness in rural areas has varied considerably.