Report: R.I. homelessness on decline, third-lowest rate of unsheltered homeless in U.S.

RHODE ISLAND had the third-lowest rate of unsheltered homeless people at 3.2 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. / COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
RHODE ISLAND had the third-lowest rate of unsheltered homeless people at 3.2 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. / COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

PROVIDENCE – Homelessness in Rhode Island is on the decline, falling 6.6 percent this year, and 13 percent during the period from 2012 to 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The federal agency said the Ocean State is mirroring the national pattern of declining homelessness.
Rhode Island also had the third-lowest rate of unsheltered homeless people at 3.2 percent, or 36 unsheltered people out of a total of 1,111 homeless, counted on a given night in late January, according to HUD’s 2015 annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.
The number represents a 13.3 percent decline in total homelessness in Rhode Island since 2010, the year President Barack Obama launched Opening Doors, a strategy to prevent and end homelessness, HUD said. Most – 96.8 percent – were staying in residential programs for homeless people, while 3.2 percent were found in unsheltered locations, the report said. On that night, 107 veterans also were found to be homeless.
Maine had the lowest rate of unsheltered homeless at 2.5 percent, followed by Massachusetts at 2.8 percent. California had the highest at 63.7 percent, followed by Oregon at 55.9 percent.

Nationwide, veteran homelessness declined 36 percent between 2010 and 2015; family homelessness dropped 19 percent, and chronic homelessness fell 22 percent. Meanwhile in Rhode Island, veteran homelessness declined 13 percent (between 2011-2015); family homelessness fell 48.1 percent (between 2010 – 2015); and chronic homelessness increased 27.9 percent (between 2010-2015).
HUD’s annual report said that certain communities are making significant progress, while others are struggling in light of the widespread housing affordability crisis, budget shortfalls or slow adoption of best practices. The results are based on HUD’s “point-in-time” estimates, which seek to measure the scope of homelessness on a single night in January each year.

“We are excited about the progress that Rhode Island has made in the battle to end homelessness,” Nancy Smith Greer, Rhode Island’s field office director for HUD, said in a statement. “We know that there is more work to be done but with the dedicated statewide partnership efforts taking place on the ground, we will succeed.”

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