CO Study Links Homelessness to Utility Bills

A study of homelessness in Colorado has found that among homeless families with children, domestic violence and utility costs were two of the most commonly cited reasons for homelessness.

The Colorado Division of Housing has released the final report of the Statewide Summer Homeless Count, which indicates that there were a minimum of 11,890 and an estimated 16,203 homeless people living in Colorado on the night of August 28, 2006.

The most commonly cited reasons for homelessness were loss of job and housing costs, followed by family/relationship breakup and utility costs. Slightly more than half (53 percent) of the reported reasons related to the cost of housing (housing costs, utility costs and eviction/foreclosure), and forty percent related to the existence of serious conditions (substance abuse, mental illness, and medical problems).

Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported that, in the past month, they or another family member needed at least one service they could not obtain. The most frequently needed service was permanent housing, cited by one quarter of respondents. Other frequently needed services were help finding a job, transportation, and rent and/or utility assistance (17.4 percent).

The agency will soon release results of another study documenting homelessness during the winter.  The state will use the information to develop a plan to address homelessness in Colorado. The study is available at: www.colorado.gov/cich/pit.htm

Source: Colorado newspapers

Page Last Updated: March 6, 2007