Connecticut has its problems, no doubt. Its economic recovery since the Great Recession has lagged behind much of the nation. Fiscal difficulties continue to plague state government year after year, though the budget adjustments that the legislature begins debating today could finally turn a corner on getting spending under control.

One thing Connecticut has done better than many other states, however, is provide help to the most vulnerable and, in particular, the homeless.

Every January since 2007 the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness has coordinated a point-in-time count of homelessness. The count back on Jan. 26 found 3,902 homeless individuals living on the street or in shelters. That is a 4 percent decline over a year ago and down 13 percent since that first point-in-time count in 2007.

Lisa Tepper Bates, who lives in Stonington and is executive director of the coalition, said that across the state social services agencies and nonprofits are better coordinating their efforts in addressing the root causes of homelessness. More people are getting help before they reach the crisis point and become homeless. Interagency cooperation also is improving the chances of homeless individuals receiving the assistance they need to find stable housing.

In particular, Connecticut has done a good job of focusing on the problem of homeless military veterans. In February, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA), certified Connecticut as the second state to effectively end homelessness among veterans.

This does not mean you will never come across a homeless veteran in Connecticut, in fact 45 were counted Jan. 26. It does mean that the state has demonstrated the capacity to quickly find and connect homeless veterans to the assistance they need to achieve permanent housing, making any new episodes of homelessness brief, if the individual seeks help.

Addressing the challenge of the chronically homeless — defined as people whose disabilities, be they mental, physical or by way of an addiction, make it particularly hard for them to find stable housing — remains especially difficult. About 15 percent of the homeless population falls into that category, according to the coalition.

Even there, however, there has been progress, with a 20 percent drop in chronic homelessness from a year ago.

All those involved in addressing this great social challenge deserve credit for moving the needle in the right direction.