About the 10-year Plan

In 2002, an unprecedented group of public and civic leaders convened to develop a blueprint for ending chronic homelessness in Utah. It’s a goal embraced by other states as part of a philosophical shift sweeping the country.

States are moving from a strategy of managing homelessness, to ending it. This entails placing the chronically homeless into permanent, subsidized apartments blanketed with supports like therapy, job counseling and addiction treatment.

It's called "housing first," and it's the new gold standard for combating homelessness. It works, and it's cheaper than the alternative: nights spent at shelters, jails, detox and hospital emergency rooms.

Statewide, more than 100 men and women have moved off the streets into permanent housing. Many of them struggle with mental illness and addictions, and have resisted efforts to nudge them toward independence. Now they’re housed, and staying housed. Some have even begun to resolve problems that precipitated their fall.

By the end of 2008, more than 500 will occupy apartments, roughly a quarter of the state’s long-term homeless population.

There's still work to be done. Twelve local homeless coordinating committees are now looking upstream at how to prevent homelessness: building more affordable housing for families living on the edge, helping adults transition from jail or prison, and aiding youths as they exit foster care.

Downstream, there’s also an unmet need for permanent, supported housing. Ending chronic homelessness by 2014 will require an additional 1,840 housing units with on-site case management. In addition, Utah's 11,569 temporarily homeless citizens will require a combination of emergency shelter and transitional housing.

It’s an ambitious goal, but well within the means of a caring community like Utah where the homeless population is comparatively small. Leaders throughout the state have committed to the cause of ending chronic homelessness. Underscoring the cause is the belief that everyone should have access to safe, affordable housing.