The key to winning the war on homelessness is to return more people to productive society than the number of new people who enter the system each year.
As Deseret News reporter Brigham Tomco reported this week, about 75% of the roughly 30,000 people who enter Utah’s homeless services each year find their way back to regular life fairly quickly. The other 25% are the chronically homeless individuals who use a lion’s share of resources and interact most often with the police.
Every year, a federally mandated “point in time” count takes place in cities nationwide on a certain night, providing a glimpse into the scope of the problem. Last year, it found almost 4,600 Utahns sleeping on a sidewalk or in a shelter, which was an 18% increase over the year before. The number of chronically homeless people jumped from 906 to 1,233.
Operation Rio Grande
As painful as it may be to admit, Operation Rio Grande, a concerted effort begun in 2017 to combat the crime associated with homelessness, and the subsequent construction of several homeless shelters or “resource centers,” only partially succeeded. It cleaned up the area surrounding the old downtown shelter, but the resource centers were not adequate to provide the help needed by those considered chronically homeless.
Now, some state leaders, including Gov. Spencer Cox; the state’s new homeless coordinator and current Rep. Tyler Clancy; and Nick Coleman, who will be his assistant; are touting the idea of a central homeless campus located away from the urban core near the Salt Lake International Airport.
Frankly, the concept is long overdue.
Yes, a central campus would be expensive to build — an estimated $75 million for construction and $30 million in operating costs — but it offers efficiencies missing in the current system. Everything from service providers to food services would be consolidated in one location, eliminating the need to transport the homeless to various locations. If done correctly, its configuration could be portable, easily expanded or contracted in one section or another to handle a spike in certain types of homeless populations.
Its greatest asset is the very thing that has made it controversial — its distance from downtown. Criminal elements often prey on the homeless, and many chronically homeless people have addictions or mental illnesses that make them particularly vulnerable. Removing them from the urban core makes it easier to treat them and provide the one-on-one attention they deserve.
A lean budget year
Unfortunately, this is a lean budget year at the Legislature, made worse by a federal budget bill that diverted money from states. Some lawmakers are skeptical about the need to fund such a project. They should not be.
Yes, the governor’s original request of $25 million toward construction and another $20 million toward ongoing operational costs has been complicated by a court decision that temporarily blocked a presidential executive order diverting “housing first” money into programs that focus more on public safety and mandatory treatment.
That order is controversial because it would divert money away from programs nationwide that provide housing for the homeless. But it also would make up much of the difference between the governor’s request and the actual costs of building and running a central campus shelter. Utah lawmakers have previously appropriated $25 million toward construction.
The governor says he’s looking for other ways to attract funding, including from private donors and local governments. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s plan to divert money remains uncertain.
Old solutions don’t work
One thing is certain, however, and that is that the current system is not adequately serving the high utilizers — those who frequently interact with police, who live on the streets and have needs that require special attention.
Coleman hit the right note when he told the Deseret News that “compassion without accountability doesn’t last, and … accountability without compassion doesn’t end up healing.”
An effective homeless strategy includes tough standards that are rigorously enforced and individualized attention that treats the homeless with dignity, respect and the services most effective for their individual needs.
We also like what Clancy told the Deseret News. He said, “We invest millions of dollars in homeless services … but if we don’t have the system in place that has the right amount of pressure to push people to those well-funded services, it’s all for naught.”
Even without enough money this year, Utah’s homeless services leaders aim to prove their new proposals work.
We wish them well and hope the dream of a central campus becomes a reality soon so more people can return to meaningful lives.