SALT LAKE CITY — When a government declares a state of emergency, it is usually in the wake of a natural disaster or a mass-casualty terrorist attack.

On Monday, elected officials in Los Angeles announced plans to declare a state of emergency over the city's growing homelessness problem. A majority of the city's 26,000 homeless people live on the streets, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In Salt Lake City, where two commissions are studying homeless services and their locations, Utah officials said Los Angeles' announcement sheds light on the dire shortage of affordable housing across the country.

"For people struggling to make ends meet, deeply affordable housing can make the difference. Across our state and our nation, we are thousands of units behind in our development of these units. As a result, our fellow Americans in need are living in constant desperation," said Matthew Minkevitch, executive director of The Road Home, which shelters, houses and provides case management to homeless families and individuals.

As land values have increased in the downtown areas of the nation's cities, public investments have encouraged housing and retail developments that target higher incomes, Minkevitch said.

At the same time, the development of housing for people with extremely low incomes has slowed, if not ground to a halt in many communities, he said.

"Supportive services for people enduring personal crises such as addiction or mental illness are extremely constrained, so thousands in need go without lifesaving treatment," Minkevitch said.

Kathy Bray, president and chief executive officer of Volunteers of America Utah, said her initial reaction to the news of Los Angeles' planned declaration was "deep sadness. These are people we're talking about."

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But as Salt Lake County's homeless services providers, government officials, community members and the business community continue to study homeless services and their physical locations, Utah has an opportunity to form a united front pushing for development of affordable housing.

Salt Lake's collaborative efforts to virtually eliminate chronic homelessness have been lifted up as a national model, Bray said.

"We made a big difference with the chronically homeless," she said, "and now we need to come together again and push and make sure people in our community have a safe place and an affordable place to live. People shouldn't have to sleep on the street."

Dennis Kelsch, director of homeless services for Catholic Community Services of Utah, said the state of emergency on homelessness in Los Angeles highlights the importance of the ongoing work of the commissions on homelessness convened by Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams.

"Their findings will help us address the problems we are facing in Salt Lake right now before we have a much more serious situation. There is a need for more housing in Salt Lake, and we hope to see more affordable development soon," Kelsch said.

Salt Lake City homeless services coordinator Elizabeth Buhler said "it's great (Los Angeles) is stepping up to help the homeless individuals in their community."

The city's Homeless Services Site Evaluation Commission is expected to release its recommendations around the end of year. The pressing need for more affordable housing has been a frequent topic of discussion by both the city panel and county's Collective Impact Steering Committee.

Meanwhile, the Becker administration's 5,000 Doors initiative aims to add and preserve 5,000 units of affordable housing in the city over the next five years to help close the 8,200-unit gap of need and available units identified in a 2013 housing study.

"It's not just helping those who need supportive housing, it's those who need a place they can afford," Buhler said.

According to Utah's Comprehensive Report on Homelessness, an estimated 13,671 Utahns experienced homelessness in 2014. While the report says homelessness in Utah has declined steadily since 2012, service providers say there is growing demand for assistance.

Most people who experience homelessness do not require wraparound services, Minkevitch said.

"That is why we transformed ourselves from an agency that provides emergency shelter to one that helps people to overcome homelessness through housing and housing with supportive services," he said.

Minkevitch said Los Angeles leaders have recognized that the city's crisis has reached a tipping point.

"That they are acknowledging this is admirable and marks a possible renewed commitment to improving their situation. In the underpinnings of their efforts, I am sure that our community can learn from them. I know that they have learned from us," he said.

Buhler said the willingness of community partners to work on challenges and possible solutions bodes well for the city's capacity to address homelessness.

"I hope in Salt Lake we never get to the point it becomes a crisis like it is in Los Angeles. We have the collaboration in place that hopefully that doesn't happen," she said.

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