Webinar: The Impact of Decentralizing Homeless Services on Transportation and Mobility

With findings from a mixed methods research study, this interdisciplinary webinar will present results from a historical public document analysis, a GIS spatial analyses, client surveys and interviews, and interviews with professionals and service providers. In 2019, the delivery of homeless sheltering services in Salt Lake County transitioned from a centralized emergency shelter to a scattered site model with multiple resource center locations, operated by multiple service providers. To understand the degree to which “proximity” to public transportation and other needed services was achieved, this study examined: how the decentralization of homeless services influenced transportation demand and mobility patterns for persons experiencing homelessness; and how transportation and mobility changes affected access to services. Findings reveal that while the region’s homelessness services system changed, the transportation network went unchanged, challenging the use of transportation, mobility, and access to services. Recommendations to mitigate transportation issues when homeless services are decentralized include significant consideration of how the transportation network system will evolve alongside the restructured service system. This could include development of no- or low-cost transportation on demand options, expanding bus routes, state-level funding for a shuttle system, and education for people experiencing homelessness on how to use public transit.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_webinar/1069/thumbnail.jp