Changes to Homeless Shelters in SLC

[UtahsMrSports]

Interesting developments.........curious to hear thoughts on this?

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=42567239&nid...ion-to-outrage

[chrisrenrut]

Breaking up from 1 location to 4 locations seems like a good idea to me, on the surface. Having the homeless concentrated in just one area has to magnify the problems and crime among the homeless.

I'm not sure about the math issue though. Replacing one shelter with capacity for 1300 with just 600 spots seems like a problem. They say it won't be, but the reasons they give are a bit vague. I'm probably just not informed enough to understand.

[concerned]

Breaking up from 1 location to 4 locations seems like a good idea to me, on the surface. Having the homeless concentrated in just one area has to magnify the problems and crime among the homeless.

I'm not sure about the math issue though. Replacing one shelter with capacity for 1300 with just 600 spots seems like a problem. They say it won't be, but the reasons they give are a bit vague. I'm probably just not informed enough to understand.

Part of the problem with the Road Home is that it is often overcrowded--some nights recently as many as 1800--which violates the fire code and risks an Oakland warehouse situation. Where these people will go when the number of beds is reduced is going to be challenging. Providing mental health and drug treatment, and affordable housing sounds great in the abstract, but it depends on federal dollars that may not be there under a new administration.

Salt Lake City bears much more than its share of the burden; other communities in the county and the Wasatch front need to step up. It is not just SLC's problem.

IMHO, two of these shelters should have been located outside the city, which probably was possible.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Breaking up from 1 location to 4 locations seems like a good idea to me, on the surface. Having the homeless concentrated in just one area has to magnify the problems and crime among the homeless.

I'm not sure about the math issue though. Replacing one shelter with capacity for 1300 with just 600 spots seems like a problem. They say it won't be, but the reasons they give are a bit vague. I'm probably just not informed enough to understand.

After much effort and time going into the selection of the new resource center sites, today Mayor Biskupski and the City Council announced the 4 locations.One question that many people have had is about the reduction (over time) from 1,100 beds in the current facility, to approx 600 beds between the four scattered sites.
It's important to know that this decision is not made on it's own, and we aren't replicating the current shelter model. We are completely re-aligning the system of how we treat and care for people who fall into homelessness, and this is a county-wide effort driven by collective impact. The main focus is to get people into housing. While we will have fewer people in shelter, that doesn't mean people will be left behind. The housing component is critical. Keep in mind that the Council allocated $21m for affordable housing, the County is constructing 2 facilities outside of SLC that will provide drug & substance abuse rehab/detox, and they are moving forward with housing pay-for-success programs that will make up the difference. Try not to focus on the decrease in number in a silo -- the whole system is being reconstructed.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

https://www.facebook.com/derek.kitch...WSFEED&fref=nf

[Moose Stubing's Whistle]

If it's a county wide effort, why does Salt Lake City have four homeless shelters while South Jordan has zero? Draper has zero. Sandy has zero. Cottonwood Heights has zero, etc.

Salt Lake City seems to be getting picked on, already had to house the state prison.