Salt Lake City • Federal housing officials say Utah's homeless population increased slightly last year but the number of veterans and families with children experiencing homelessness continues a seven-year decline.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the results Wednesday of its annual count of the homeless on a single night last January.
It says more than 2,800 homeless were counted in Utah communities. That's an increase of 1.6 percent from 2016, but about a 13 percent decrease since 2010.
Families with children experiencing homelessness dropped about 1 percent from last year and more than 28 percent since 2010.
The 220 U.S. veterans who were homeless in Utah was about a third fewer than January 2016 — down 36 percent from 2010.
About 2,500 homeless persons were counted in emergency shelters or transitional housing on the January night while 278 were unsheltered.
