NAU professors work to find solutions for rising homeless population

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Homelessness has continued to rise over the past few years, but researchers at Northern Arizona University are leading the way in prevention measures that could help thousands around our state.

In 2023, 14,000 people were considered homeless in Arizona. That’s almost a 30% increase since 2020, according to data from NAU.

Laura Noll and Robert Wickham partnered with the Maricopa Association of Governments to determine what causes people to become homeless. The two professors of psychological sciences have been researching the causes of homelessness for years in hopes of finding ways to prevent it.

They said a lot of factors can contribute to homelessness, but unpaid utility bills are one of the major signs people could soon struggle with rent.

“Essentially, it comes down to more bills than an individual or household can pay,” Wickham said.

The professors said prevention is a big focus in their research because the number of unhoused people is almost double the capacity of shelters or temporary housing.

“The critical ratio that really rings true is this 19 to 10,” Wickham said. “So, for every 19 households that become unhoused currently, we’re only able to rehouse 10 of them.”

Wickham and Noll are now leading an organization that will divide $10 million to nonprofit organizations around Arizona to provide food, medical loans and other services to people on the brink of homelessness.

In April, the research team distributed $2,000 to about 5,000 households across Arizona. Now, they will study how these funds prevent people from becoming homeless.

“We’re seeking to provide flex funds to households and individuals who are right on the precipice of becoming unhoused,” Wickham said. “For individuals to be able to relieve those debts and avoid eviction.”

People in rural communities often have less access to services like shelters. To bridge the gap, researchers created the Community Impact Fellows Program to help master’s students learn how to work with unhoused individuals and help local shelters in Flagstaff.

“To solve real-world problems that these organizations are facing as they are becoming overwhelmed with the influx of individuals seeking services,” Noll said.

The professors said they hope to understand what causes people to become homeless so that they can help them stay in their homes.

“As an attempt to prevent human suffering right and some of the most profound kind,” Wickham said. “We want people to have healthier and more fulfilled lives that are free of terrible preventable events like this.”

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.