How Utah has nearly wiped out homelessness

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Washington Examiner:

Utah has defied the stereotype of a red state in nearly eliminating chronic homelessness through a government program, and has became the model across the country for providing homeless people with housing before addressing their other needs.

 

Now, the architect of the state's program is looking to export the model to other states and towns, even while some conservatives have raised concerns about it.

 

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Utah has unusually strong coordination among agencies, strong private institutions and a relatively small homeless population.

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In 2005, the state began testing a simple idea for housing the chronically homeless: Provide housing before addressing anything else, such as health needs or drug issues.

 

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A decade later, the ranks of the chronically homeless has fallen 91 percent, according to Utah officials.

 

Even better, from the perspective of big-hearted but fiscally conservative Utahns, state officials believe they saved money with the housing-first approach.

 

"We know the solution is housing, and affordable housing," said Lloyd Pendleton, the former Utah Homeless Task Force director who instituted the policy. "You can say, 'Woe is me, it's way too expensive,' but you're incurring the costs already throughout your system with them being on the street."