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SALT LAKE CITY — Nineteen counties in Utah, including Salt Lake County, issued a code blue alert on Wednesday to allow more people experiencing homelessness to find shelter as another cold front sweeps across the state.
A second wave of snow arrived in Utah on Wednesday, reaching the Wasatch Front in the late afternoon and early evening hours.
Wednesday's code blue alert was one of a series that had been issued as winter storms continued to move across the state. A code blue notification is issued the morning of an expected cold front, and street outreach efforts begin shortly after notification.
The alerts are issued by each county when temperatures are expected to drop to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, including the wind chill, for two hours or more during a 24-hour period. The alert allows shelters to expand their capacity limits by up to 35% to provide temporary shelter; allows code blue overflow facilities to open; prohibits enforcement of no-camping ordinances and the removal of any personal items for survival in cold weather, including clothing, blankets, tents, sleeping bags, heaters, stoves and generators if no accommodations or beds are available.
"We are thick into what we are learning is code blue season. We're on night ... I think it's six. I lost count at this point. But we have had a very successful code blue implementation," said Katie Zimmerman, program coordinator for the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness.
With Salt Lake County's homeless shelters expanding capacity by 35% and code blue sites, an additional 235 code blue beds have been added to the system.
"The goal was 200, so we've met that and we are seeing those beds being used. We are seeing that it is in need and we are grateful to have those open and be able to bring folks in out of the cold, and out of the snow and wind and everything else we've seen so far this winter," said Zimmerman. "We've really seen a lot of partnerships throughout the system with the implementation of code blue, and it's been really great to see and experience that firsthand."
When shelter sites or code blue facilities are full, staff arrange transportation to other sites with availability. Despite improved capacity, some unsheltered individuals still find themselves sleeping on the street. A tracker introduced to the system is meant to track the number of individuals turned away but has been malfunctioning during the winter response, providers reported in a Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness meeting on Wednesday.
"We've had to turn 20 to 30 people away every night. While we do refer people to other shelters, they have been full," said Wendy Garvin, executive director of Unsheltered Utah.
Unsheltered Utah is a part of the 2nd and 2nd Coalition, which runs the First United Methodist Church during code blue nights. Even when other shelters aren't at capacity, it can be difficult to persuade clients to access the system, advocates said in Wednesday's meeting.
"Some have lost some trust in the system and are unwilling to go that far for a facility that they don't know or don't trust. We are encouraging them to take advantage of the services that are offered, but to some extent rebuilding that trust is going to need to come from the system," said Garvin. "We have many of these clients that have been turned away from the major shelters; they've been exited sometimes permanently from those shelters. So they don't feel welcome, they don't feel safe, and we don't feel great about taking them to a location where they're convinced that they're going to get turned away."
Salt Lake County shelters and code blue facilities
- St Vincent De Paul, 437 W. 200 South in Salt Lake City, accepts all adults and service animals. Winter overflow beds are available from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- West Valley overflow shelter, 3381 S. Redwood Road in West Valley City accepts men and couples, and pets are welcome. Offers 24/7 winter overflow beds and code blue beds.
- Gail Miller Resource Center, 242 W. Paramount Ave. in Salt Lake City accepts all adults, and pets are welcome. Offers 24/7 winter overflow beds.
- Geraldine E. King Resource Center, 131 E. 700 South in Salt Lake City accepts women, and pets are welcome. Offers 24/7 winter overflow beds and code blue beds.
- Pamela Atkinson Resource Center, 3380 S. 1000 West in South Salt Lake accepts men and service animals. Offers 24/7 winter overflow beds and code blue beds.
- First United Methodist Church, 203 S. 200 East in Salt Lake City accepts everyone, including families, and pets are welcome; offers code blue beds. Sign up here to volunteer.
- Valley Behavioral Health, 1020 S. Main Street in Salt Lake City accepts everyone, including families, and pets are welcome. Offers code blue beds. Sign up here to volunteer.
