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SALT LAKE CITY — Over 50 people protested the treatment of those experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake City and held a march to Vivint Area where NBA All-Star events were being held Sunday.
The march began about 3 p.m. at Pioneer Park and navigated road closures for the NBA All-Star Weekend, before stopping on a corner outside of the arena. More than 50 people were gathered, including advocates, community members and those experiencing homelessness.
The protesters rallied for an end to the city's encampment cleanings, against what they call the criminalization of those who are unsheltered and for more efforts to house people who are living on the street.
"The immediate need from the unsheltered community is for the SLCPD and for Mendenhall to stop their reign of terror and to stop street evictions. They must stop the sweeps — that is the No. 1 cause of people's loss of belongings, their loss of equipment, their loss of IDs, documents, everything that they own," said community organizer Denise Weaver.
Michael Moliver, 30, said that he owned a tent when he arrived in Salt Lake City in June but gave it away due to the ongoing cleanings by the city.
"I see cops bullying the homeless, just coming in and destroying all their stuff and taking it, whether they give them a warning or not. It's not their place to destroy somebody's suffering. You have people's wedding rings that have been stolen and lost because of this — it's a bully tactic and it's tiring," said Moliver.
Mishalene, a woman who asked to be identified by her first name only, said she was homeless for approximately 9 years, and also expressed frustration with how police manage homelessness.
"They're not for our best interest. They're for the people that are out here in the businesses and apartments. People up in the Avenues, up in the hills, that's what they're about and they see us as a pariah, a parasite. And that's how they treat us," Mishalene said. "They're bulldozing people's personal property, memories from their childhood, their children's handprints, people's lives because they say it's trash — that we're trash."
While Mishalene recently has become housed, the process of getting there has been difficult. Mishalene is now housed through a voucher provided by Volunteers of America but had been waiting for Utah Section 8 housing for over eight years.
"It's a hard, long process. If you don't stay on your housing case manager, you will fall through the cracks. You will be forgotten," she said.
Calls for more affordable housing have been repeatedly made. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's proposed 2023 budget included $150 million toward housing initiatives, including affordable housing. But advocates say housing takes time to build and the current shelter system isn't enough.
"On the city level, they impose a moratorium on shelters when they know that there is no solution coming from the rest of the system. And so between the state and the city who talk every single day, they have completely limited the options for our unsheltered population and not provided anything in the way of safety," said Wendy Garvin, executive director of Unsheltered Utah.
Advocates' frustrations with the response to homelessness were amplified by a recent plan by state, county and city officials to temporarily house unsheltered people during the NBA All-Star weekend. The plan came to light when advocates from the 2nd and 2nd Coalition revealed that an offer had been made to fund the 2nd and 2nd Coalition's "movie nights" to offer shelter at the First United Methodist Church over the NBA All-Star Game weekend.
"We know that they were trying to hide the unsheltered and it's really frustrating that instead of focusing on the safety of people during the coldest nights over the course of a really brutal winter that we've had, they're focusing on this commercial nonsense that isn't going to help anybody," said Garvin.
The funding proposal was offered during a meeting of state, county and city officials, as well as homeless providers and advocates. State and city officials cited safety concerns because there will be many extra people downtown during the All-Star Weekend. The proposal at the time carried a nearly $55,000 dollar price tag, with approximately $21,000 being allocated to the "movie nights."
When the plan was revealed to the public, state officials notified the 2nd and 2nd Coalition that funding would no longer be available. Despite the offer being made to advocates being rescinded, other elements on the funding proposal continued forward.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall released a video on Twitter regarding the controversy and denied the city was attempting to hide those experiencing homelessness.
"There's been a lot of talk about the upcoming All-Star Game and allegations that the city has asked anyone to hide unsheltered people in this city. That could not be farther from the truth," Mendenhall said in her video.
The plan included the Central City Rec Center opening Sunday afternoon and until Monday, to provide additional shelter and daytime services for unsheltered people. Other permanent resource centers opened during the day and planned to host "watch parties" with refreshments during the weekend. The preliminary budget proposal outlined additional shuttles being provided during the weekend, hiring additional staff and staffing incentives for overtime shifts. Finalized plans neared approximately $40,000 dollars.
"What that tells us is that the city can open these spaces and can house these people whenever they want," Weaver said. "This is a matter of political will and the city is showing us that they don't have the political will to do so. We're out here so that we can make ourselves be seen, make ourselves be known and also so that everybody can know that we are not going to listen to Mendenhall's lies anymore. If she wants to hide us, she can hide us in homes."
