A small army will fan out across the state this week to take a census of homeless Utahns, a count that will provide a portrait of the most needy residents and a check on the state’s effort to end chronic homelessness.
Service providers and trained volunteers will provide counts from shelters, churches, jails, hospitals and soup kitchens. The volunteers also will visit "hot spots" where homeless people tend to congregate — libraries, malls, parks and known camp sites. They’ll roam streets and, in the Salt Lake Valley, ride TRAX in hopes of connecting with those who are down on their luck as part of the 2012 Homeless Point-in-Time count.
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A portrait of homelessness, 2011
In 2011, an annual statewide survey of homeless Utahns found:
24 percent had experienced chronic substance abuse
24 percent were victims of domestic violence
22 percent had experienced mental illness
14 percent were military veterans
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires states to conduct an annual census of people using shelter services on a designated night — Jan. 25 this year — and uses the data to document trends and allocate funds for homeless assistance programs. HUD requires unsheltered people — those sleeping in such places as cars, parks, abandoned buildings and sidewalks — to be tallied every other year.
This is an off-year for the unsheltered count, but Utah has done an on-the-street survey every year since 2004, when state officials first began an annual survey of the homeless population.
"Not only are we gathering data, but we’re gaining knowledge and understanding of who we’re serving," said Rob Weseman, outreach program manager for Volunteers of America, Utah.
In the past, Utah’s count took place during an intensive sweep on the designated night. That’s changed for 2012.
This year, the statewide count will extend over five days, beginning Jan. 26 and ending Feb. 1, with surveyors trying to determine where a person stayed on the night of Jan. 25.
"The overall focus is to get as accurate a count as we can," said Lloyd Pendleton, director of the state’s Homeless Task Force. "Every year it’s getting better and better."
Ashley B. Tolman, community service coordinator with the state Division of Housing and Community Development, said more effort has been made this year to include faith-based organizations that provide homeless services.
There also is "more collaboration so we’re not double-counting between agencies and covering the ground more thoroughly," she said.
Participation is voluntary and confidential. While shelter providers will handle counts for their facilities, teams of surveyors overseen by VOA Utah, will conduct individual, on-the-street interviews.
Count organizers are hoping the bright purple-colored survey sheets will be recognizable and help avoid duplication, Weseman said. The first question on the survey asks whether they’ve already completed a purple form. The second is whether the person stayed in some kind of supported shelter on Jan. 25, a question also designed to reduce chances of double counts.
Other questions are aimed at determining how long someone has been homeless and whether he or she has experienced homelessness in the past. One question may help Utah determine how many people were living in doubled-up situations: It asks whether the respondent was temporarily staying with family or friends.
The survey also asks demographic questions about age, gender, race, veteran status and disabilities, including mental health, physical disabilities and substance abuse, HIV/AIDS status and whether a person is a victim of domestic violence.
Last year, the annual count found there were 3,114 homeless people statewide. About 14 percent — 442 — were living on the streets, while the majority were in shelters. The vast majority of homeless Utahns were located in Salt Lake County.
Using count data, state officials estimated slightly more than 14,000 people experienced homelessness during the year. About a fourth were victims of domestic violence; 14 percent were veterans.
Tolman and others expect this year’s count to provide concrete evidence of the rise in homeless families noted by service providers.
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