Solving the puzzle of chronic homelessness
Utah's successful initiative
The number of chronic homeless — people who have been without housing for more than a year or who have been homeless four times in three years — has dropped in the state from 1,932 in 2005 to 539 this year.
Chronic homeless in 2014
Utah's success tackling chronic homelessness
Utah's chronically homeless population is shrinking, while overall homelessness remains about the same. Chronically homeless is defined as being without housing for at least one year, or being homeless four times in three years. In Utah, most homeless people find housing within a 12-month period.
U.S trends
From 2012 to 2013, a period of continued slow recovery from the Great Recession, overall homelessness decreased by 3.7 percent and homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation—families (7 percent), chronically homeless individuals (7.3 percent), and veterans (7.3 percent).