HUD awards $4.2 million to programs that assist Utah's homeless

WASHINGTON – Thirty-nine homeless assistance programs in Utah will receive $4.2 million in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"These grants are the lifeblood for thousands of local housing and service programs that are doing the heavy lifting to meet President Barack Obama's goal of ending homelessness," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in a prepared statement.

Chronic homelessness has declined since 2005 due to significant investments to establish thousands of transitional and permanent housing units to assist people who have been living on the streets.

In 2010, Salt Lake City experienced a 42 percent downturn in chronic homelessness from 2009. Researchers and human services providers attribute the decline to a 10-year initiative that places the homeless in housing sooner and connects them to an array of services and case management to deal with issues that contribute to homelessness.

The Comprehensive Report on homelessness released this past fall says the vast majority of Utah's homeless population — 67 percent — are temporarily homeless. They stay in shelters for brief periods and often do not return.

— Marjorie Cortez