Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox proposes a simple solution to fight crime, drugs and homelessness in Utah: more swimming pools.
Cox participated in a conversational forum on Wednesday with Sam Quinones, journalist and New York Times best-selling author, on "Breaking the nexus of homelessness, crime and drugs" at the Solutions Utah Conference. The pair discussed the connection between drugs and homelessness, the role of law enforcement in rehabilitation, and how community involvement can improve well-being.
As Utah legislators have created new strategies to help the homeless population in the last several years, the state still saw a 27% increase in chronic homelessness from 2022 to 2023, according to Solutions Utah. During the forum, Cox emphasized the impact homelessness and drug-related crime have had on communities, especially in Salt Lake City.
"I refuse to believe that we have to allow our capital city to be a place where families can't walk down the streets together, where families can't go to our parks together, and where we just let people die on the streets. I can't believe as a society ... we're going to accept that," said Cox.
After working as a crime reporter for over 30 years, Quinones authored two books detailing the American drug crisis and its effect on individuals and communities across the nation. In his books, "The Least of Us: Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth" and "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic," Quinones described the relationship between drug use, mental illness and homelessness.
One of the major points Quinones touched on during the forum was that the significant amount of drugs available creates consumer demand, not the other way around.
"When it comes to opioids, it is more the case that supply raises demand because the usual opioid changes our brain chemistry more profoundly than any other class of drugs," he said "And in particular, when that class of drugs is provided in staggering quantities ... now you got a whole new population will get addicted."
These changes in brain chemistry due to opioid use and addiction create or amplify mental illness, Quinonez explained, which both contribute to homelessness in significant ways. He believes methamphetamines and fentanyl are the most damaging drugs affecting the population now.
In 2024, Cox announced Utah's Fentanyl Task Force, which was formed to address the local fentanyl crisis as the opioid epidemic continued to grow across the nation. As law enforcement has increased efforts to seize narcotics and prosecute its distributors, Cox says over the past month, the price of fentanyl "has gone up significantly" as it becomes harder to find.
The Drug Enforcement Administration reported the largest fentanyl bust in its history on Tuesday, after seizing more than 400 kilograms, or just short of 900 pounds, of fentanyl and arresting 16 individuals believed to be part of a large drug trafficking organization. The operation expanded across several states, including Utah, where nearly $800,000 in U.S. currency and a vehicle valued at $150,000 were seized in relation to the crimes in Layton.
"I've seen families come back out because they feel safe, because they see that law enforcement side. Those people that are coming out, that wanna save the city, they care. That's one of our superpowers in Utah, is that we lead the nation in compassion by any measure," said Cox.
Still, both Cox and Quinones agreed that law enforcement's role in improving drug use and homelessness is more than just prosecuting crimes. In his research for "The Least of Us," Quinones met an individual who helps families locate their loved ones living on the streets and struggling with addiction. He shared that she never saw someone go successfully from living on the street to treatment and recovery; law enforcement had to intervene first.
"Law enforcement, almost uniquely in all of this, has the ability to disrupt your drug use by blessedly arresting you and getting you off the street, where you no longer are assaulted, almost without defense, by these drugs," said Quinones.
While being incarcerated may remove the ability to obtain drugs for a period of time, Cox acknowledged that more treatment is needed to help individuals heal from addiction. Being released after incarceration, many individuals return to a similar lifestyle that included drug use if the psychological needs that led to the addiction are not addressed.
For those using illegal substances or any other methods, like gambling or excessive social media use, to fill voids in their lives, Quinones recommended seeking personal fulfillment over temporary pleasure.
"The most important thing we can do is to find ways of developing purpose, fulfillment through your own hard work … the pursuit of pleasure is a dead end, and instead is the pursuit of fulfillment, but that requires hard work," said Quinones.
Quinones' book "Dreamland" was named after a community swimming pool in Portsmouth, Ohio. He chose that title because it symbolized the importance of connection and gathering in a community. Cox said this resonated with him when reading the book because, in his career, he frequently heard people criticize communities that would build splash pads and other parks, rather than facilities that receive a higher return on investment.
Over time, however, he began to understand the importance of gathering places, like a splash park, where individuals find community. Cox said the more profound problem behind issues like addiction and homelessness is often a lack of connection and a lack of compassion for one another.
But he believes if there is any place that can work together to heal those affected by the opioid epidemic and help the unhoused get off the streets, it would be Utah.
"As much as we're losing these connections as a country, we still have them here more than anywhere else," said Cox. "We still have a faith-based community that brings people together, we teach about 'the least of us' every Sunday in different congregations … and we do still build splash parks."
Solutions Utah is a nonprofit organization made up of policy advocate leaders who aim to confront homelessness and other challenges in urban areas. This year, the organization prioritizes keeping government accountable, engaging in efforts to create safe neighborhoods, and advocating for policies that vitalize communities.
