Over the past five years, homelessness has dropped 69% in Utah and this year, it could be eliminated all together with the Housing Works program. Despite rising poverty rates across the United States, Utah is one state that is clearly doing something right. It’s been a 10 year process, but the Ten-Year Strategic Action Plan to End Chronic Homelessness now aims to end the cycle of poverty in 2014. Quite simply, Utah is remedying homelessness by providing homes.
Utah’s Housing Works program provides a permanent home for its homeless citizens and gives them access to substance abuse programs, job training and other social services. Housing costs about 30% of state-facilitated income and residents are encouraged to be “good stewards of their personal and shared housing areas and maintain good relations with other tenants, case managers, and property managers."
The Housing Works program is having such a profound effect on Utah, it may even be able to close some of its homeless shelters and reallocate these million dollar budgets to other homeless services within the community.
Photo Credit: Arch Daily
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Homeless Housing Programs
- Cities can create similar programs to Utah's Housing Works to end homelessness and combat poverty.
- Substance Abuse Programs
- Incorporating substance abuse programs into homeless housing solutions can improve outcomes and disrupt the cycle of poverty.
- Social Services Integration
- Homeless housing programs that offer comprehensive social services can lead to greater success in ending homelessness and preventing poverty.
Where This Applies
- Real Estate and Housing
- The success of Utah's Housing Works program indicates a potential market opportunity for real estate developers interested in creating homeless housing solutions.
- Nonprofits and Social Services
- Nonprofits that offer comprehensive social services to homeless individuals have the potential to partner with city and state governments to establish similar programs to Housing Works in other communities.
- Healthcare and Insurance
- Healthcare providers and insurance companies can play a role in ending homelessness by incorporating routine mental and physical health services into homeless social service programs.
