Simplified: Leaders from the city, county and state gathered Thursday evening to talk about homelessness in the region, the need for better data and how collaboration is the only way to make any progress.

Why it matters

  • Sioux Falls is a fast-growing city, and even so the number of people experiencing homelessness is growing at a faster rate than the overall population.
  • The Regional Homelessness Forum – a brand new event – brought together a panel of government officials and dozens of interested members of the public in a packed Orpheum Theater Thursday evening.
  • One big takeaway from the forum was the need for more data to help pinpoint the scope of homelessness.
    • Matt Althoff, secretary of the state Department of Social Services said he looks at the more than 70,000 South Dakotans enrolled in supplemental nutrition programs, as well as 148,000 people enrolled in Medicaid at one point last year – indicating the scope of poverty in the state.
"We have to be mindful that at any given moment there's a household that's one behavioral health episode ... one car accident, one missed utility payment away from becoming that (unhoused) individual," Althoff said.

Tell me more about themes discussed in the forum

The event included a panel of officials including Althoff, Mayor Paul TenHaken, Minnehaha County Commissioner Dean Karsky and Larissa Deedrich, executive director of Sioux Falls Housing and Affordable Housing Solutions.

Here's a look at some of the big takeaways:

A problem with no solutions. TenHaken said homelessness is one of the issues he hears about most from Sioux Falls residents, but it's also one of the issues he said he has the least ability to solve.

"We're never going to get to a point in this community where we say we've solved homelessness," TenHaken said.

An ounce of prevention. Karsky shared that one goal of the county is to help keep folks from becoming homeless by providing nearly $1 million each year to offer rent and utility assistance.

"Giving a homeless person shelter is a very short term solution to a homelessness problem," Karsky said. "We are trying to make that person self-reliant."

'Not sustainable' as it stands now. TenHaken also noted a "huge lack of collaboration" in addressing homelessness. He said as the city grows, the community will also have to decide what to do to help, noting that it's "not sustainable to have all services in a three block area" – referring to the collection of social services available on Eighth Street just east of downtown.

"The challenge for me as a mayor is I have no authority in this space," TenHaken said, noting the responsibility for addressing homelessness sits with a wide variety of government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, faith leaders and the general public.

Need for more open-minded landlords. Deedrich noted the challenges her office faces in finding housing for people who are coming out of a time of homelessness – particularly because of a lack of landlords willing to work with that population.

  • Additionally, wait lists for federal Section 8 housing vouchers remain incredibly long. There are about 2,000 people on the waitlist, which is expected to reopen in March.

What happens next?

The city will conduct its annual point-in-time homeless count next week to better understand the number of people affected.

  • Last year's count showed 610 unhoused folks in a one-day count – a marked increase from 2023, which found 490. The number keeps going up each year.

TenHaken said he'd like to see more similar forums – including one with nonprofit service providers – to continue the community conversation on this issue.