Study: Homelessness Dropped Last Year For The First Time Since 2006

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Homelessness in Minnesota dropped last year for the first time in nearly a decade, according to a study released Wednesday.

Wilder Research says its 2015 homelessness report shows a 9 percent drop in Minnesota homelessness since the last study in 2012. Not since 2006 has the research group marked a drop in the state's homeless numbers.

Reasons for the drop are credited to targeted resources, such as initiatives to lift veterans out of homelessness and more affordable housing, according to Michelle Decker Gerrard, the co-director of the Wilder homeless study.

However, a lack of affordable housing statewide still poses a significant issue in tackling the problem of homelessness, Gerrard says, adding that stiff competition over housing is forcing those on low incomes into homelessness.

Last year, an estimated 15,000 people were homeless on any given night in Minnesota, according to the Wilder Research report, which also said that a majority of the homeless are 24 years old or younger, suffer from serious mental illness and are disproportionately likely to be black or Native American.

For more on the Wilder Research study, click here.