PROVO — At first glance, it would seem Provo's homeless population is small to nonexistent.
Few wander the streets, and those who do rarely ask for money. It comes as no surprise, then, that Utah's third-largest city does not have a homeless shelter.
Rumors have circulated for years that Provo brass round up the homeless and bus them out of town before the sidewalk below them gets warm enough to sleep on.
Not true, Utah County United Way director Bill Hulterstrom says. Most homeless people in Provo stay in motels or low-income apartments as transitory housing instead of shelters.
Some argue that a shelter would attract more homeless people from other areas. But just because the homeless are less visible in Provo than in other cities doesn't mean they don't exist.
"They're out there, but they're a hidden group," said Craig Hiatt of Wasatch Mental Health. "I think many of them stay hidden because there's a low tolerance for them here."
Hiatt said homeless people pushing shopping carts or riding bicycles loaded with grocery bags full of clothes are often mentally ill. But there are scores of others who live with relatives or are a paycheck away from living on the street.
"It's hard to say how many homeless people we have because there are so many different definitions of homelessness," said Hulterstrom. "It may be true that we have less people walking the streets than other communities, but it would be difficult to say we have more or less homeless than other cities."
Homeless people can be grouped into different categories, Hulterstrom said. There are those who travel from city to city, often on trains; the mentally ill; victims of substance abuse and domestic violence; and families and single individuals who struggle to pay rent.
"Many people in our community are a paycheck away from homelessness, and we try to find ways to prevent that," Hulterstrom said.
More than 1,000 families are on the waiting list for subsidized or public housing in Utah County, and it will be six to eight months before any of them are even considered for housing.
In Utah County, human-services agencies have focused their efforts and resources on helping homeless people find jobs and permanent housing instead of on building a shelter.
Hulterstrom says homeless people in shelters are often treated as a group and are often neglected. In Utah County, homeless people are treated as individuals, he said, and the goal is to help them find stability, not a temporary solution.
"The question of the need for a shelter is a bit politically charged," said Diane Hartford of Utah Issues, a group that advocates for people living in poverty. "There are those who argue that if housing were more affordable and jobs paid better there would be fewer homeless, and we should focus our efforts there. On the other side of the coin there are those who say, 'Do you just let people freeze to death outside?' "
One of the difficulties of keeping track of homeless people is their transitory nature. And many, especially the mentally ill, do not want to be counted or helped.
Hulterstrom said the mentally ill homeless in Provo often resist efforts to be placed in transitory housing.
There are between three to 10 new patients a week who check into Wasatch Mental Health's program for the homeless. Through the program, homeless people can get counseling, medication-management instruction and psychiatric care. They are also put in transitory housing.
"Our program is becoming so full we no longer do the outreach we did five years ago," Hiatt said.
In other words, if the mentally ill homeless do not come asking for help, they won't get it.
The increase in the homeless population has prompted many individuals to volunteer in treatment and prevention programs. One Provo resident, Dr. David Perry, recently began a national program called Feed America Thursday.
The program asks all Americans to skip two meals on the Thursday before Thanksgiving and donate the money they would have spent on food to a group or organization that provides meals and assistance to homeless people and others in need.
The U.S. Senate recently adopted a bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, that urged support for Feed America Thursday.
Since that time, Provo officials have received proclamations from more than 50 mayors across the country in support of the program. Both Gov. Mike Leavitt and Provo Mayor Lewis Billings have declared "Feed America Days."
"During this time of year when we offer Thanksgiving for our blessings, this plan can be a great way to help provide food for those in need," Billings said.
E-MAIL: jhyde@desnews.com