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SALT LAKE CITY — In the past year, over 18,000 people have accessed services from a homeless services provider in Utah, according to the Coalition of Religious Communities.
While many of those people accessing services received help intended to prevent homelessness, over 10,000 utilized emergency shelter services.
"That's a whole lot of people who have avoided sleeping outside, have avoided becoming homeless altogether in some cases," said Bill Tibbets, executive director of Crossroads Urban Center.
Homeless service providers across the state gathered Wednesday to share the success of programs in reducing homelessness and what investments are needed moving forward. The webinar was hosted by the Coalition of Religious Communities and featured service providers from Ogden, St. George, Midvale, South Salt Lake and Salt Lake City.
A 2022 homelessness report by the Utah Department of Workforce Services' Office of Homeless Services revealed that the homeless population is increasing, with the number of Utahns experiencing homelessness for the first time increasing by 14% from 2020 to 2021.
Of those who accessed emergency shelters, 51.7% had no previous experience with homelessness and 69.2% of those accessing services for the first time were families with children, according to Crossroads Urban Center.
As homelessness has continued to increase, funding into mitigating the issue also continues to rise. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's recent budget proposal for the upcoming 2023 fiscal year includes $150 million toward housing initiatives, including affordable housing.
While initiatives, funding and programs continue to grow, it seems so does the frustration of the general public as homelessness continues to be visible across the state. Despite ongoing frustration between all stakeholders, homeless service providers outlined successes within some of programs and initiatives.
"I think it's really not possible to talk about how things could be made better if you don't understand all the good work that's already being done," said Tibbets. "We're not starting from scratch. We're not reinventing the wheel."
Housing solutions
While each service provider present in the webinar expressed that the need and utilization of services continues to grow, many pointed to programs that have made progress in managing the crisis. Programs mitigating homelessness that focus on prevention and helping someone remain in housing were emphasized by providers. Successful initiatives included rent negotiation, eviction assistance and connecting individuals to transitional housing.
"We firmly believe that housing should be readily available for every single person regardless of what they're experiencing. Right now, our cost of living and attainability of an apartment is difficult, and especially for those with barriers," said Lauren Navidomskis, executive director of the Lantern House.
Housing dominated the solutions discussed by service providers, noting successes across the state. Among those successes are a former elementary school in Tooele County that has been renovated into a community center. The community center will feature a 24/7 day care on-site, as well as housing options for families and for singles. Another success was the renovation of several hotels to create housing such as the Point.
"Housing is really our bread and butter and what we focus on the most it is the only solution to homelessness. It is the only thing that will get people off the streets and out of shelters," said Mike Young of the Road Home.
Access to services, community partnerships
Service providers also pointed to the Medicaid expansion in the last year as a recent success in addressing homelessness. The expansion has allowed individuals experiencing homelessness with physical or mental illness to access care that might elevate them out of homelessness.
Switchpoint Operations Director Kristen Clark told the story of a 50-year-old man who had experienced homelessness off and on throughout his lifetime. The man struggled with mental illness but only received a diagnosis after being placed on Medicaid in 2020, said Clark.
The diagnosis allowed the man to access medication and care, which in turn has allowed him for the first time to have his own apartment.
"It's opportunities like this Medicaid expansion that are really opening doors for these individuals," Clark said.
Additional programs highlighted by service providers include partnerships with the Huntsman Mental Health Institute or collaboration between agencies. Case managers from the Road Home and Salt Lake police social workers have begun to meet bi-weekly to discuss the overlap of individuals.
"Those two systems were just too siloed for too long and so we brought those teams together and now we can work collaboratively both through the judicial system, through the court system and through the social services sector to find positive outcomes for those folks," Young said.
Looking ahead
A common thread between providers was the call for more deeply affordable and transitional housing. Salt Lake City's homeless policy coordinator Andrew Johnston pointed to several upcoming projects designed to bring housing online.
The Salt Lake City Council recently approved a $6 million grant to fund several deeply affordable housing projects to come online in April. The grant was allocated to three projects — Ville 1659 bringing online 197 affordable housing units, Point at Fairpark bringing on 94 affordable housing units and project for the medically vulnerable by Shelter the Homeless with a minimum of 98 units.
"I think if you look at the bigger spectrum, cities can do a couple of things. They can fund housing, which is an important piece because we don't build it ourselves. You've got to find partners who do this; housing authorities or private developers," said Johnston. "But the second piece is you got to look at your policy and your land use and those kinds of things."
The Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday night announced that research gathered from the Thriving in Place, Anti-Displacement commissioned study would be used to inform new city plans. While building housing is important, the council said it hopes to help individuals remain in their communities.
"There is increased need for homeless services, but it's not because the services are broken. We have amazing services. They're doing great work and when there's housing for people to move into, we move people into that housing and they stay there," Tibbets said.
