This past week the Department of Workforce Services and Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness released the annual report on homelessness for the 2019 fiscal year. In analyzing the report, Deseret News noted that "the data still doesn't show any major progress in the multi-million-dollar effort to provide shelter for those in need." The report, however, shows a 12% increase in the overall individuals experiencing homelessness at the Point-in-Time count taken in January. This metric shows an increase of 333-people from 2019 to 2020. State officials have attributed this jump to better data coordination across the state, rather than an actual increase in homelessness.
The report also showed that the number of unduplicated sheltered individuals has dropped by 5.5% from 2018 to 2019. The annual report also provided the metric that 10 out of 10,000 Utahns are homeless. This number has remained relatively the same for the past five years. The Salt Lake Tribune also explained that the report shows, "racial minorities are overrepresented in Salt Lake County's homeless system as a proportion of their population." In Salt Lake County, Black individuals represent around 12.6% of those receiving services but are only 2.2% of the county's total population. The Trib quantified this metric saying, "That means there are 5.7 times more Black people in the homeless system than would be expected based on demographic data alone." American Indian or Alaskan Natives also represent a large percentage of individuals seeking homeless services as compared to their population size in the county. SLVCEH said that they plan to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of this data: to understand what factors further enhance systemic racial disparities within the homeless service system.
At the Point-in-Time count in January, there was a higher number of unsheltered individuals. State officials attributed this to more community participation across the state. The report also provided other data metrics used to address the efficacy of the homeless system. One is that on average, there was an increase of one day for the length of stay in emergency shelters. Deseret News reported on data from the HMIS system that shows, "62% were experiencing homelessness for the first time, which suggests 'the need for identifying additional ways of preventing initial instances of homelessness.'" Of the individuals tracked in the Point-in-Time count, there was an increase in those who are chronically homeless.
The report also found that there was a significant need for affordable housing options, because, during January, almost all supportive housing infrastructure was full or near capacity. Deseret News reports that "The housing inventory also showed Utah isn’t fully utilizing its emergency shelter and transitional housing beds. Of the 2,563 emergency shelter beds available on the night of the Point-in-Time count, only 2,034 beds were being used, an occupancy rate of 79%. Of the 550 transitional housing beds, only 393 beds were being used, a 71% rate, according to the report. Many of those unused emergency shelter beds are dedicated to certain groups, including domestic violence victims and youth, so they weren’t necessarily available to other people the night of the count, according to state officials."
As an overview, the data from the state shows that 22% of Utah's homeless are chronically homeless, 4% are veterans, 23% are domestic abuse survivors, 20% have substance abuse disorders, and 31% have mental health illnesses.
To read the full report click here.