Yes thank you, the article does contain a lot more info than just the headline. Homelessness is a more complex issue than it appears at the surface. There a many stages of homelessness and different demographics of it.
A shelter I contribute to here in Portland focuses specifically on homeless families who have recently fell on hard times and tries to address getting them back on their feet and into sustainable jobs before they enter a vicious circle and are unable to get back into the system at all. I don't believe those families would have counted toward the chronic homeless number.
Re:How Utah Reduced Chronic Homelessness
by austenallred on Friday March 17, 2017 @01:18PM
(#13895850)
Of course, but how is chronic defined and measured, and how has that changed historically? I've heard that the definition is ever-changing. I read the article
Did you really? The fifth paragraph defines it:
"The chronically homeless, on the other hand, are a subset of the homeless population that is often the most vulnerable. These are people who have been living on the streets for more than a year, or four times in the past three years, and who have a "disabling condition" that might include serious mental illness, an addiction or a physical disability or illness."
From the article:
"As of 2015, the state can just about declare victory: The population of chronically homeless people has dropped by 91 percent."
...
"In fact, Utah still has a substantial homeless problem. The overall homeless population is around 14,000."
"The chronically homeless, on the other hand, are a subset of the homeless population that is often the most vulnerable. These are people who have been living on the streets for more than a year, or four times in the past three years, and who have a "disabling condition" that might include serious mental illness, an addiction or a physical disability or illness."
...
"By implementing a model known as Housing First, Utah has reduced that number from nearly 2,000 people in 2005, to fewer than 200 now."