Zavala 1

Aracely Zavala

ENG 1010

Dr. Haslam

11 December 2020

Annotated Bibliography

Introduction: This annotated bibliography is designed to give readers a thorough understanding

of readings regarding the actions that have been taken in the State of Utah to end homelessness.

My research question is “Are Utah's initiatives to end homelessness working? If not, what needs

to be done?” This research seeks to discover the initiatives Utah has taken to reduce the number

of homeless individuals, the effects it's had on the homeless, and improvements that can be made

to help end homelessness in Utah. These sources will help me come up with answers to my

questions and help me explore my topic more thoroughly.

2020, State of Utah Annual Report on Homelessness 2020,

jobs.utah.gov/housing/scso/documents/homelessness2020.pdf

The State of Utah’s annual report on homelessness reports data on the state's chronic

homeless. This annual report measures the number of homeless individuals, successful

placement in permanent housing, return to homelessness, homeless

prevention/placement, length of time people remain homeless, the number of people

homeless for the first time, and the job and income growth for those who are homeless.

The report finds that homelessness is a statewide issue impacting every county in Utah.

The overall numbers of those experiencing homelessness in Utah, on a single night

increased from 2019, and the number of people accessing service decreased over the
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year. The report states, “The numbers of individuals being permanently housed and those

returning to homelessness after being housed are moving in positive directions. However,

the rise in the number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness demonstrates

that there continues to be a need for improvement in these areas.” The annual report

states there are still things that need to be done as there has been an increase in

homelessness in the past year. It provides accurate data and analyzes whether or not the

data provided from Utah counties of homelessness has increased or decreased over the

past year.

This report illustrates data found over the last year of homelessness in Utah. The data

indicates there has been an increase in the number of those experiencing homelessness,

meaning more needs to be done to get people off the streets. This source fits into my

debate as it will appeal to my use of logos. It will help support my point that the

initiatives the State of Utah is taking aren’t enough. Even with what has been done, there

has been an increase in homelessness in Utah by 12% over the past year. This annual

report includes several types of data from different sources. These reports have been

thoroughly reviewed and provide a well-rounded picture of this complex issue. The

intended audience of this report is Utah state officials and/or Utahns. This source is

credible as it obtains data from all counties in Utah. The Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD) reviewing and analyzing each set of data putting it together

into this report. The HUD accurately measures and reports the data given. Not only that

but to improve data quality, HUD allows homeless service providers to back-date or

change data entered to provide more accurate information.

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“End Utah Homelessness.” End Homelessness in Utah, endutahhomelessness.org/.

https://endutahhomelessness.org/

The website, End Utah Homelessness, provides links to files from the Department of

Workforce Services. One of the PDF files it illustrates is Utah’s Approach to End

Homelessness, published in August of 2018. This file discusses the components of Utah’s

homeless response system. For example, their day services, street outreach programs, and

emergency shelters. In this file, they also speak about their Rapid Re-Housing initiative,

Transitional Housing, and Permanent Supportive Housing. According to the Department

of Workforce Services and other government entities, “In Utah the solution to

homelessness is housing.” They believe the best approach is connecting homeless people

to permanent housing, which will then solve the problem of homelessness. Another PDF

file the website illustrates is the State of Utah’s Statewide Strategic Plan on

Homelessness from Workforce Services. This file was prepared for the State Homeless

Coordinating Committee in September 2019 and was last updated in September 2020.

This file speaks about community needs that aren't being met on homelessness, it

discusses service gaps in Affordable Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing,

Emergency Beds, Mental Health Services, Outreach Services, etc. Not only that, but they

also discuss Utah’s Strategic Plan on homelessness and the steps they’re planning on

taking to lower the occurrence of homelessness in Utah.

This source doesn’t quite take a viewpoint, however, it does discuss Utah’s initiatives and

areas of improvement. This source fits into my project because it provides me with

relevant information about Utah’s approach on homelessness. Rhetorical concepts that

are important to consider is the use of logos throughout the files. Each file provides data
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points or statistics in their claims. The target audience of these files is Utah officials,

homelessness committees, and those experiencing homelessness first hand. I agree with

the plans and initiatives described in the files to help the homeless. I feel by gathering

data and seeing where Utah is falling short and fixing those errors is a good way to lower

the number of homeless individuals in Utah.

Alder, Laurel Cannon. “The Art of Forming a New Nonprofit .” Utah Nonprofits Association.

https://utahnonprofits.org/images/art-of-forming-a-new-nonprofit.pdf

This step by step guide to forming a nonprofit organization from the Utah Nonprofits

Association was written by Laurel Cannon Alder. In this source, Alder explains why one

should start a nonprofit and provides a checklist of steps needed to organize one.

“Nonprofit organizations fill a void left by government agencies and businesses. It’s the

backbone of social, cultural, environmental and community services”(Alder). As stated

by this step by step guide, nonprofits are great resources to help people in the community.

The author's step by step guide provides good information on the things that need to be

done to be able to start a nonprofit and describes why each step needs to be completed.

For example, Alder explains how to prepare and file for Articles of Incorporation, IRS

form SS-4, Bylaws, etc. In each step, explain why each step is important/ required.

This source doesn’t take a viewpoint, but it does give both the pros and cons of starting a

nonprofit. This source fits into my project, as I’m creating a website/ blog post speaking

about how to create a non-profit organization. This source will help support my claim

that nonprofits are great for helping those in need in our community. The target audience

for this source is those interested in creating a nonprofit, as it is a simplified way of what
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it requires for it to be done. This file provided important and new information I didn't

know before about what was required to start a nonprofit. This source is credible as the

Utah Nonprofits Association is a non-profit organization that is known for assisting

emerging nonprofits of all types, throughout the state of Utah.

Zhang, Paige, et al. “Cold Weather Conditions and Risk of Hypothermia Among People

Experiencing Homelessness: Implications for Prevention Strategies.” International Journal of

Environmental Research and Public Health, MDPI, 5 Sept. 2019,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6765826/?tool=pmcentrez.

Paige Zhange wrote an article discussing cold weather conditions and the risk of

hypothermia among people experiencing homelessness. This article was published by the

U.S. National Library of Medicine. Zhange describes what hypothermia is and how it’s a

well-recognized consequence of exposure to cold, low body temperatures. “Hypothermia

is a potentially lethal but highly preventable condition. As such, it is essential for public

health, shelter, and outreach organizations to take proactive steps through planning and

response to mitigate the health impacts of cold weather on people experiencing

homelessness” (Zhang). It’s important that states, especially those who experience cold

temperatures, have sufficient places implemented to help reduce the risk of hypothermia

among individuals experiencing homelessness. This article suggests places with low body

temperatures to implement, if not ready in place, seasonal shelters and warming centers

in addition to extreme cold weather alerts to help reduce the risk of hypothermia in

homeless individuals.
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This article takes the view that countries need to do more to prevent hypothermia in those

experiencing homelessness. While homelessness is a social and public health concern,

Zhange takes the viewpoint that places, especially with low body temperatures, should

take more initiatives to get more people off the streets. This source fits into my debate as

it describes the health risk of hypothermia homeless individuals face, during the winter

months. It speaks about the need for more homeless shelters and/or warming centers.

This source uses logos as it states statistics of homeless individuals suffering from

hypothermia, as well as those who have died from it. The audience of this source is

government officials, as they may be looking into how to decrease the number of

homeless individuals in their state/ country. This source is credible to its audience and

others, as it was written by medical professionals. I agree with this article because no one

should spend the night on the streets, especially in cold weather conditions. More needs

to be done to help homeless individuals, to not only reduce the risk of hypothermia but to

end homelessness overall.

Conclusion: Through my research, all the sources relate to the context of my project as they

provide important information on Utah’s past and future initiatives to end homelessness. As well

as describing possible solutions that can help reduce the number of homeless people on the

streets. Throughout my research, I’ve found many sources stating the need that more needs to be

done to help those experiencing homelessness. Most don’t realize or consider what it’s like to

experience homelessness first-hand, so it’s important to reach out to try and fix/ create new

initiatives that benefit individuals struggling with homelessness. It’s necessary and important to

discuss this issue with homeless individuals, as it can help find problems in the system that needs
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fixing. Taking this initiative can also help come up with possible solutions that can be

implemented that are in their best interest. These sources have helped me explore my topic more

thoroughly and have answered my research questions.