Saint Paul – 27 percent of Ramsey County adult shelter users were long-term homeless and comprised 50 percent of shelter use according to a report released today by Wilder Research. The report, Counting on Shelter, tracks emergency shelter and transitional housing use in Ramsey County in 2004 and 2005, and looks at trends since 1991 when the first report of this series was issued.

“This report is unique because it tracks individual shelter users over time and shows patterns of shelter use. This is the first time we tracked long-term homelessness. We added that category to provide information for state and county plans to end long-term homelessness,” says Craig Helmstetter, Wilder senior research scientist.

The state defines long-tem homelessness as being without permanent shelter for at least 12 months or four times in the last three years. In 2004, 858 single adults met this definition; in 2005 the number increased to 1,049. In both 2004 and 2005, four percent of all families served in shelters were long-term homeless. Helmstetter says, “It is important to note that since episodes of homelessness often include stays in places other than shelters, the numbers in this report actually underestimate the actual number of long-term homeless.”

According to Greg Owen, director of Wilder’s study of statewide homelessness, the growth of long-term homeless in Ramsey County shelters raises concerns that the same trend may be reflected state-wide despite current efforts to identify housing solutions. Owen is conducting the next Minnesota Homeless Survey in late October.

Data was submitted by all of the emergency shelters for adults and families in Ramsey County, and 10 of 16 transitional housing programs. It excludes domestic violence and youth shelters.

Other Key findings include:

The number of adults seeking emergency shelter in Ramsey County was the highest in 15 years; while the number of children was the lowest in 15 years

In 2005, 4,543 individuals are known to have stayed in shelters. This was an 8 percent increase from 2003 when the report was last produced. The total number of adults, 3,907, returned to the highest level seen since 1991, after hovering around 2,500 from 1997 through 2002. Single adults, primarily single males, made up most of the increase. On the other hand, the number of families with children is trending downward. There were 622 children in emergency shelter in 2004, the lowest number since this report began. That number rose just slightly to 636 in 2005.

The average age of individuals has generally increased since the early 90s

In 2005, for the third year in a row, more than half of adults using shelters were age 40 or older. The racial composition also shifted somewhat, with the percentage of African American adults decreasing from 57 percent in 1999 to 44 percent in 2005. Use by gender has remained consistent; four of five adult shelter users were males. Nearly two-thirds of all shelter users, including children, were males on their own.

Repeat shelter use increased

In 2004 and 2005, the trend continued toward more frequent and shorter stays. The number of separate shelter stays for adults in 2004 was 9,466 and increased to 10,755 in 2005—the highest recorded since the report has been produced. Repeat shelter use was also up. In total, 120,780 bed nights of emergency shelter were provided to 4,543 individuals in 2005.

In 2005, 1,188 individuals stayed in transitional housing

Unlike emergency shelter which is short-term, transitional housing provides up to two years of housing with services to help people become self-sufficient. The 1,188 transitional housing residents reported in 2005 is the highest number recorded since 1991. “The number does not necessarily reflect an increase in demand, since the providers participating in the data collection for the report represent only about 60 percent of the total transitional housing capacity in the county,” says Joanne Arnold, Wilder research associate. “It’s also important to note that the type of adults using the transitional housing programs differ substantially from those using emergency shelter,” she says. The report shows over half of all people living in transitional housing in 2005 were children, compared to 15 percent of children in shelters. Over one-quarter were women without children and only one percent were single men, compared to 64 percent in shelters.

The study was funded by the City of Saint Paul, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Family Housing Fund, Minnesota Housing, and Ramsey County.

The report marks the first time that data collected via Minnesota’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is used in a report available to the general public. HMIS centralizes data, making it possible to obtain unduplicated counts of people using shelter services and track long-term trends.

PDF of full report

Wilder Research, part of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in Saint Paul, is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit research and evaluation centers dedicated to the field of human services. Wilder Research issues nearly 150 reports per year that help improve the community’s understanding of major social issues and identify effective ways to strengthen individuals, families and communities.

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