Real help doesn't come without a lot of outside help, and there's always more than can be done, she said, noting that the long-term homeless comprise less than 15 percent of the state's homeless population, but consume more than 60 percent of shelter beds.

Last year, 100 homeless men and women with an average of three years on the streets moved into permanent housing. Tenants pay 30 percent of their monthly income to rent a small studio apartment. The rest is covered with rent assistance.

"The emergency shelter system wasn't created for them," said Kerry Bate, director of the Salt Lake County Housing Authority, which owns Grace Mary. "Research shows that only with permanent shelter will the homeless population be drastically reduced."

If every taxpayer put a check mark in the $2 donation box on the 2007 state tax return, an additional $1 million would be generated.

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E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com