The number of homeless people in Tempe has risen along with demand for services, according to city officials.

The latest report from the Tempe Community Council estimates there are 155 homeless individuals in Tempe, up from 138 last year. Teresa James, who coordinates homeless outreach in the city, said the use of services like low-income housing coordination has increased "about 20 percent" over the past year.

James said a growing segment of that population includes families and people who have never been homeless. Those people require a special level of attention, she said.

"It takes more time to serve them," she said. "You have to engage them and spend more time talking about the services available to them."

Tempe's statistics were released late last week as part of National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week. The Tempe Community Council is expected to give a report on the latest numbers at this week's City Council meeting.

James said she expects the problem to continue to grow until the economy shows substantial improvement. In the meantime, Tempe is working on a pilot housing project to help another segment of the homeless population, the chronically homeless.

For the purpose of the project, chronically homeless are defined as people who have been homeless for at least a year, or have been homeless at least four times over the past two years. Most of those individuals are either physically disabled or mentally ill, James said.

"They're costly because they tend to rotate in and out of the hospitals, (and) the jails. There's a lot of police intervention with them as well," she said. "If we can get them into housing, the cost goes way down for taxpayers."

The city has worked closely with Magellan of Arizona, a health-care provider, to identify the most at-risk individuals and help them find housing. So far, 31 of 35 apartments in the city set aside for the program have been filled with formerly homeless individuals.

But Stephanie Knox, director of residential services at Magellan, said the problem doesn't end with placing individuals in homes. The next challenges include helping them find work and settle into the community. Many of them leave behind friends still living on the street, have trouble relating with their neighbors and suffer from loneliness.

"One of the biggest challenges is making them feel part of the community," she said.

James said other homeless outreach programs in the city are busier than they were last year, but the programs haven't suffered from the cutbacks facing statewide social services. Outreach programs around Tempe have benefited from cooperation throughout the recession, she added.

"Everybody's really good about sharing resources and problem solving," she said.

James said many of the programs, including shelters, kitchens and domestic-violence counseling centers, are in need of volunteers. A complete list of organizations is available at tempe.gov/tcc/nonprofit/fundagencies. Anyone interested in volunteering can also call 480-858-2300.