HUD: Homelessness decreases in R.I.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island has experienced a 13.3-percent decline in homelessness since 2010, including a 6.6-percent decline between 2014 and 2015, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Nationally, HUD’s 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress found an overall 11-percent decline in the number of people experiencing homelessness since 2010, including a 26-percent drop in the number of people living on the streets. In 2010, President Barack Obama launched Opening Doors, a comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness.

In Rhode Island, local communities reported a total of 1,111 people experienced homelessness in January 2015, representing a 13.3-percent decline since 2010, HUD reported.

These 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. Volunteers across the nation count their local sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations. These counts are then reported to HUD.

Nationwide, homelessness among veterans declined 36 percent between 2010 and 2015; family homelessness dropped 19 percent, and chronic homelessness fell 22 percent. During the same period in Rhode Island, veteran homelessness fell 13 percent, family homelessness declined 48.1 percent, and chronic homelessness increased 27.9 percent.

 On a single night in January 2015, state and local planning agencies in Rhode Island reported the following estimates of homelessness:

— Overall, homelessness declined by 171 persons or 13.3 percent since 2010. In January 2015, an estimated 1,111 people were homeless on a given night. Most (96.8 percent) were staying in residential programs for homeless people, and 3.2 percent were found in unsheltered locations.

— Homelessness among veterans fell by 13 percent between 2011 and 2015. On a single night in January 2015, 107 veterans were homeless.

— Chronic homelessness among individuals increased. Since 2010, chronic homelessness rose 27.9 percent. Nearly 110 individuals experiencing homelessness in January 2015 were reported as chronically homeless.

— Local communities reported a 15.2-percent decline in families experiencing homelessness between 2014 and 2015. Since 2010, family homelessness declined by 48.1 percent.

cdunn@providencejournal.com

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