Salt Lake City Looks To Reevaluate And Improve A New Homelessness Plan

A unidentifiable homeless person surrounded by eager belongs sits on the sidewalk propped against a street sign.
Like all North American cities in this time of pandemic, Salt Lake City has a problem of both chronic homelessness, together with growing situational homelessness.

If COVID-19 has achieved one benefit for the homeless, it has brought hidden homelessness to light. Municipalities and regions have in the past been inclined to minimize the numbers of people who are homeless in a community. They’ve done so by focusing primarily on the visible homeless as estimated by “point in time” counts where communities are flooded by volunteers who identify those in need of shelter. . . . .

Surely it’s only necessary to create shelter capacity for the people who are chronically homeless1 and . . . Job done!

Only it isn’t.

COVID-19 has drawn our attention to homelessness in part because of the way we’ve been “managing” the issue. Pets? No, I’m sorry they can’t come in. Domestic violence at home? No, I’m sorry, we’re full. Women? No, I’m sorry we can’t take your children. Families? No, I’m sorry, we’re full. As well, shelters did not accommodate the social distancing and personal hygiene practices that we now know contribute to the spread of COVID and other illnesses like the common cold.

Earlier this year we published a post that reflected on the narrow thinking that had determined the scope of a new shelter system in Salt Lake City, Utah2. In particular, we pointed out that congregate shelters, however well-intentioned, created conditions that actually drove the away those with mental health issues, as well as those poorly able to withstand bullying and abuse that may be endemic.

Now Salt Lake City has announced plans to better serve the mixed needs of its shelter users, helped by a Utah-wide survey of stakeholders to determine requirements for housing both the people who are situationally homeless3 and the people who are chronically homeless. For the latter group, there is a determination to more provide mental health treatment.

Read more at 2KUTV: State looking to update homelessness plan with more focus on mental health

Footnotes

  1. Definitions of chronic homelessness vary across jurisdictions. Utah’s incorporates mental illness.
  2. Try: Body Count: Utah Finds Ways To Not Solve Homelessness
  3. In Utah, “situational” refers to people whose homelessness is temporary and who are expected to return to the workforce. This earlier post, also from Utah, indicates that the situationally homeless will also include school aged children and youth who will one day join the workforce. Try: Education Essential, So U.S. Searches Vainly For 400K+ Homeless SchoolKids