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HUD Report Shows Slight Uptick In Utah Homelessness

Whittney Evans/KUER

The latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Development show this is the first time homelessness has gone up in Utah in six years.

In Utah, 2,852 people were homeless in 2017 according to the report. It’s an increase of 45 people from last year. That’s a shift, as homeless numbers have gone down in the state every year since 2012.  

The data also shows more of those people are going unsheltered compared to last year, meaning they’re likely sleeping on the streets.

In better news, Utah continues to have one of the lowest rates of veteran homelessness with a 34 percent dip over the last year.

HUD’s 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found that nationwide more than 550,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2017. It’s an increase of less than one percent over 2016. The creep is due in part to significant increases in big metro areas in California, New York and Texas. 

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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