The Evolution and History of Homelessness in Ogden, Utah
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- Jul 5
- 8 min read
By Teresa Brechlin
Homelessness is a complicated issue that has affected communities across the United States for a long time. Ogden and Utah has its own unique history about how homelessness has changed over the years through circumstances and state and federal policies. Understanding this history helps us see the challenges faced by people who lack stable housing.
Early Settlement and Homelessness in Ogden
Utah's modern history starts with the arrival of pioneers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints (Mormons) in 1847. These settlers built communities based on farming, faith, and fellowship. Homelessness then looked different than it does today. Most settlers lived in close-knit groups where family and church networks provided support when times got tough. Still, hardship was common. Harsh winters, failed crops, and economic downturns sometimes left people without adequate shelter.
Ogden's story with homelessness is deeply tied to its identity as a railroad town. It's a town where people have always been passing through. For over a century, Ogden has struggled with how to care for its most vulnerable residents.
The Railroad Era: Transients and Temporary Shelter
From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, Ogden was a bustling railroad junction, the place where the transcontinental railroad met the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines. The city swelled with "waves of non-Mormon fortune seekers" and workers passing through, many arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs. By 1914, the issue of sheltering homeless and unemployed men was already front-page news.
Key points about the history of homelessness in Ogden, Utah:
Homelessness was often temporary and linked to economic hardship or moving to new areas.
Churches played a major role in providing aid and shelter.
Urban growth brought new challenges as the population became more diverse.
The Great Depression and Its Impact on Ogden and Utah’s Homeless Population
The 1930s brought the Great Depression, a nationwide economic crisis that hit Utah hard. In 1933, Utah's unemployment rate reached 35.8%, the fourth highest in the nation. By 1932, wages had dropped by 45% and work hours by 20%. Unable to pay rent or mortgages, many families lost their homes.
In the summer of 1933, the Deseret News reported that hundreds of homeless families were camping on empty lots throughout Salt Lake City. A labor inspector during this time described homes without furniture as common, with beds consisting of blankets on the floor and orange crates serving as chairs and tables.
Federal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped by creating jobs and improving roads and buildings. By spring 1933, 32% of Utah residents relied on government relief.
Effects of the Great Depression on homelessness in Ogden, Utah:
A sharp rise in unemployment and families losing their homes.
Growth of unsanctioned homeless settlements across the valley.
More government involvement in housing and employment.
Post-World War II Changes and Urban Development
After World War II, Utah's economy grew and cities expanded. New highways and suburbs changed where people lived. But these developments often pushed low-income residents out, forcing them into unstable housing situations.
During the 1950s and 1960s, homelessness was less visible but still affected veterans, single adults, and people with mental health challenges. Social services began to grow, but there were still many gaps.
Notable trends in mid-20th century Utah:
Urban renewal projects displaced some vulnerable people.
Returning veterans faced housing and employment challenges.
Early social programs started addressing homelessness but lacked coordination.
Deinstitutionalization and the Criminalization of Mental Illness
To understand why homelessness became more visible in Utah, we have to look at something called deinstitutionalization (the process of closing large state mental hospitals and moving patients into community-based care). This policy, which began in the 1950s and accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s, was meant to be more humane. Instead of locking people away in asylums, the goal was to treat them in their own communities with support services.
In many ways, it was a well-intentioned reform. President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act in 1963, which provided funding for community mental health centers across the country. The idea was that people with mental illness could live fuller, more independent lives with adequate support.
But there was a problem. President Reagan’s administration is often cited for failing to fulfill this promise of support. The administration cut or eliminated significant portions of federal funding that were intended to build and maintain community mental health centers. Financial responsibility for mental health care was largely shifted to the states, which often lacked the resources, capacity, or political will to care for the newly discharged population.
As a result, many people with severe mental illnesses were released from hospitals but had no access to treatment, medication, or support systems in the community, leaving them to fend for themselves and greatly increasing their vulnerability to homelessness. Some experts note that deinstitutionalization has been an overall benefit for most psychiatric patients, though too many have been left homeless and without care.
The Role of Federal Policy
Changes in federal policy also played a major role. In 1965, Medicare and Medicaid were created. These programs would pay for care in nursing homes, but not in state mental hospitals. This created a financial incentive for states to move patients out of hospitals and into nursing homes. By 1972, the rate of admission of individuals over 65 to state mental hospitals had fallen by half, from 146 per 100,000 to 69 per 100,000.
The 1972 Social Security Amendments further encouraged this shift. The new Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program excluded payments to people living in state and county mental hospitals. The year after the program was enacted, the institutionalized population dropped by 13.3 percent. This was a shrewd financial move for the states, but it was far from benevolent.
The Result: "Psychiatric Ghettos"
Without adequate community support, many former patients ended up in what researchers have called "psychiatric ghettos" defined as urban centers near deinstitutionalizing hospitals, primarily for the indigent Medicaid patients who lacked a custodial alternative. Others ended up on the streets.
The Rise of Visible Homelessness in the Late 20th Century
By the 1970s and 1980s, the effects of deinstitutionalization became more visible in Utah's cities. Economic recessions, cuts to mental health funding, and changes in welfare policies all contributed to this rise. Ogden saw more people living on the streets, in shelters, or in vehicles.
While multiple factors influenced homelessness trends during the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s policies are widely recognized by researchers and historians as contributing significantly to the rise in the homeless population during that decade. The primary mechanisms were changes to federal housing policy and cuts to the mental health system.
In 1986, the Utah Homeless Task Force estimated that on any given day, between 1,400 and 2,400 people were homeless in Utah. About 500 to 1,000 of those sought shelter in Salt Lake City, and one-third had been homeless for six months or longer. The task force also found that one-fourth of homeless people were men with families or single women with children, and only 14% had chosen to live that way.
Community groups and faith-based organizations stepped in to provide emergency shelter and food. Efforts began to raise money for a family and women's shelter, led by the Greater Salt Lake Area Committee, with a goal of $4 million.
The issue of homelessness in Ogden became more visible in the 1980s due to these new federal policies and a housing crisis. Soaring home prices, cuts to subsidized housing programs, and the demolition of single-room-occupancy hotels (SROs), eliminated cheap housing options for low-income people and made it far more likely that they would end up on the streets.
In 1984, the Ogden Standard-Examiner ran an editorial urging the city to find a permanent, winter-ready shelter for the homeless. At that time, Ogden's transient shelter program was desperate for help, with city officials scrambling to find a vacant government-owned building on West 30th Street . The editor described a situation where "everybody agrees something must be done to help the homeless through the coming winter months by providing overnight lodging," yet nobody had stepped up to provide a long-term solution .
Factors contributing to increased homelessness:
Economic downturns and job losses.
Deinstitutionalization of patients with mental illness without enough community support.
A shortage of affordable housing.
Utah’s Unique Approach: Housing First and Beyond
In the 2000s, Utah gained national attention for its approach to homelessness. The state adopted the Housing First model, which focuses on providing permanent housing before addressing other issues like employment or addiction. This was a big change from older approaches that required people to meet certain conditions before getting housing.
The Rise (2005-2015)
Utah began implementing Housing First policies in 2005 with the goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2015. The strategy aimed to move chronically homeless individuals - especially those with mental health or substance use issues - straight from the streets into stable housing with voluntary case management.
Cost was a big part of the argument. Early state data showed that housing someone cost about $7,800 a year, compared to $19,200 spent on emergency room visits, jail time, and emergency services. Supporters said Utah saw a 91% drop in chronic homelessness, from 1,932 people in 2005 to 168 by 2015. No other state was even close to achieving that level of success.
The Fall and Policy Shift (2015-Present)
But the numbers didn't tell the whole story. Critics and researchers argue that the reported decline was affected by changes in how homelessness was counted, not just actual housing placements. The largest drop happened between 2009 and 2010, when Utah changed its definition of chronic homelessness and stopped counting people in transitional housing as chronically homeless.
After 2017, chronic homelessness grew rapidly. From 2017 to 2022, the number of chronically homeless people reached 792, a 95% increase from 2010 and a 328% increase from 2017. By 2025, chronic homelessness hit a new peak of 1,233 people.
The Utah Legislature passed bills moving away from a "no-strings-attached" policy. Governor Spencer Cox and legislative leaders signaled they were no longer supportive of "Housing First" policies that lack accountability.
A 2008 report prepared for the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice found that nearly a quarter of Utah prisoners are seriously mentally ill and at higher risk for incarceration and recidivism than individuals without mental illness. This is the "criminalization of mental illness" - when people with mental health conditions end up in jail instead of treatment .
Today, as homelessness has surged in Utah, lawmakers are debating a return to institutional models by moving toward centralized, treatment-focused homeless campuses and emergency shelters that prioritize sobriety and wraparound care before permanent housing placement. Many argue that a proposed campus in North Salt Lake resembles the old asylums. Others argue that this is a return to a failed system.
The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count in Utah estimates the number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. Counts fluctuate annually based on regional economic factors, winter shelter availability, and localized tracking efforts.
I wasn't able to find 2025 and 2026 Pit Counts by county. Historical PIT counts for Weber County are documented across several periods:
2024: 455 individuals counted (a significant increase from the prior year).
2023: 353 individuals counted (277 sheltered, 76 unsheltered).
2022: 349 individuals counted.
Current challenges include:
A shortage of affordable housing.
Limited resources in rural communities.
The need for better mental health and addiction services.
Addressing homelessness among youth and families.
In 2026, the state recorded 4,512 people experiencing homelessness on a single night, a 1.6% decrease from 2025. This was the first year-over-year decrease in recent state history. Despite this progress, homelessness remains a challenge. Rising housing costs, population growth, and economic inequality continue to cause housing instability.
What this means for the Do Good Today model
At Do Good Today, we see this history in our work every day. The families we serve are living through the current chapter of this story. When we are able to furnish a home for someone leaving homelessness, we are helping solve one of the root causes of housing instability and that is the fact that an empty apartment doesn't feel like home.
Since 2022, Do Good Today has furnished over 900 homes. In the only year we tracked return-to-homelessness data (2022), our clients returned to homelessness at less than 4% compared to nearly 50% countywide. That's the difference between an empty apartment and a home.
The success of our two programs, Welcome Home (furnishing apartments) and Empower Us (paying unsheltered individuals to help with pickups and deliveries), are examples of a Utah community coming together to care for our neighbors. We are rooted in Ogdens history of grassroots compassion, and we are committed to being part of the solution for the next chapter of this story.
Do Good Today is a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Weber County. Since 2022, we have furnished over 900 homes. To learn more, visit dogoodtodayutah.org.
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