Domestic violence ranks high on the list of reasons Utahns become homeless, nearly as significant a cause as substance abuse and mental illness.
More than half of the Utah voters surveyed as part of the Utah Priorities Project (53%) gave homelessness and poverty a high level of concern, ranking it four or five on a five-point scale. The issue ranked 9th among the Project’s top ten issues of concern.
Other facts included in the research brief: The total number of individuals experiencing homelessness in Utah has been declining, based on the annual point-in-time count conducted each January. While successful efforts have been made to address the needs of the chronically homeless, agencies such as the Road Home have been providing services to an increasing number of families. More than two-thirds (70.1%) of those experiencing homelessness in Utah are in Salt Lake County.
“Poverty, of course, is a much broader social concern for everyone in Utah,” said Utah Foundation Research Director Shawn Teigen. “But the voters in our sample focused on homelessness in their responses to our survey. A follow-up question also shows that voters think support for the homeless is more important than concerns over neighborhood safety.”
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