"The number of people in Utah who are homeless dropped by about 8 percent since last year due to a slew of new housing programs designed to help the chronically homeless."
Housing should be a basic human right. In fact, housing should be the number one basic human right because we've seen that when someone must endure homelessness, more problems than Carter's got pills arise for that individual as a direct result.
We know too that living life homeless can be fatal. A person experiencing chronic homelessness is damned lucky to be alive after the age of 47.
Sadly, we treat even our most heinous criminals better when we incarcerate them than we do the average homeless person who struggles to survive on the streets on a daily basis. For criminals, there's a guaranteed "3 hots and a cot," provided courtesy me and you, every single day that person is under our control. That we're unable to afford the same basic privilege to members of our society who may have done nothing more than to be laid off from their most recent job is shameful and sends a very distorted message about the priorities of the most wealthy and powerful nation on earth.
Housing for the homeless. What a novel idea.
Utah homeless rate down 8 percent, housing options up
SALT LAKE CITY -- The number of people in Utah who are homeless dropped by about 8 percent since last year due to a slew of new housing programs designed to help the chronically homeless, a new survey found.
The 2011 Point-in-Time Count survey conducted by the Division of Housing and Community Development reported that the number of people who experienced homelessness for some or part of the year declined from 15,642 in 2010 to 14,351 this past year across Utah.
Lt. Gov. Greg Bell, chair of the State Homeless Coordinating Council, said at a news conference Wednesday that those who are chronically homeless consume 50 percent of resources available to the homeless population, even though they represent only 10 percent of that population.
"We have found that providing rental subsidies with case management initiatives ... meeting their mental and physical health needs, jobs and other necessities, we've been able to address this issue in a humane and cost effective manner," Bell said.
Bell also said the chronically homeless are high consumers of expensive community services such as emergency rooms, jails, ambulances, fire response teams, and police interaction -- costs that could be minimized to provide shelter and food to others in need.
Chronic homelessness has declined nearly 26 percent -- from 812 people in 2010 to 601 in 2011, according to the survey.
Initiatives over the past five years, such as providing about 500 units of housing to the homeless community, have driven the decline in numbers, according to Zach Bale, a spokesman for the Volunteers of America in Salt Lake City. He said more still needs to be done to help homeless youth and families, a portion of the homeless population on the rise in Utah.
"Even though the overall numbers are decreasing, the number of homeless youth and families are still increasing," Bale said.
"With foreclosures and unemployment rates still high, this has caused some families to kick out members who don't pay rent or families that are suddenly homeless because they can't afford mortgage payments."
The survey, which was taken on Jan. 27, is part of a national effort to by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to collect data on homeless and their use of services, according to Gordon Walker, director of the Division of Housing and Community Development. Walker also credited the decline to the improving economy.
Utah adopted a plan in 2005 to end chronic homelessness in 10 years by helping them with re-integrating them into society, finding jobs and getting them into their own apartment, according to Bell. He said for every chronically homeless person that is helped, about 2.5 homeless people, some of them in a temporary rut, would be able to get the help they need.
The 2011 Point-in-Time Count survey conducted by the Division of Housing and Community Development reported that the number of people who experienced homelessness for some or part of the year declined from 15,642 in 2010 to 14,351 this past year across Utah.
Lt. Gov. Greg Bell, chair of the State Homeless Coordinating Council, said at a news conference Wednesday that those who are chronically homeless consume 50 percent of resources available to the homeless population, even though they represent only 10 percent of that population.
"We have found that providing rental subsidies with case management initiatives ... meeting their mental and physical health needs, jobs and other necessities, we've been able to address this issue in a humane and cost effective manner," Bell said.
Bell also said the chronically homeless are high consumers of expensive community services such as emergency rooms, jails, ambulances, fire response teams, and police interaction -- costs that could be minimized to provide shelter and food to others in need.
Chronic homelessness has declined nearly 26 percent -- from 812 people in 2010 to 601 in 2011, according to the survey.
Initiatives over the past five years, such as providing about 500 units of housing to the homeless community, have driven the decline in numbers, according to Zach Bale, a spokesman for the Volunteers of America in Salt Lake City. He said more still needs to be done to help homeless youth and families, a portion of the homeless population on the rise in Utah.
"Even though the overall numbers are decreasing, the number of homeless youth and families are still increasing," Bale said.
"With foreclosures and unemployment rates still high, this has caused some families to kick out members who don't pay rent or families that are suddenly homeless because they can't afford mortgage payments."
The survey, which was taken on Jan. 27, is part of a national effort to by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to collect data on homeless and their use of services, according to Gordon Walker, director of the Division of Housing and Community Development. Walker also credited the decline to the improving economy.
Utah adopted a plan in 2005 to end chronic homelessness in 10 years by helping them with re-integrating them into society, finding jobs and getting them into their own apartment, according to Bell. He said for every chronically homeless person that is helped, about 2.5 homeless people, some of them in a temporary rut, would be able to get the help they need.
