The Homeless Services Site Evaluation Commission analyzed the current homeless services system in Salt Lake City and determined that a scattered site model, meaning more and smaller facilities throughout the community, would better serve homeless individuals and take pressure off of neighborhoods hosting services.

Two new homeless resource centers were built in Salt Lake City and one in South Salt Lake. Each facility will be designed to serve a particular homeless group, such as single women, single men, families, etc.

Two new homeless resource centers are located in Salt Lake City. They are located at:

• 131 East 700 South
• 275 West High Avenue (1475 South)

The new homeless resource centers are secure, limited in size and have critical services inside each facility. They will provide space for individuals to stay in the facility at all hours of the day, and will include interior courtyard space for individuals to gather outdoors while staying in the center. Case management, job services, food, storage and housing services will be on-site. In addition, facilities are served by mobile health clinics. The goal will be to transition individuals out of shelter and into housing as quickly as possible.

These facilities will be smaller than former emergency homeless shelters. They are designed for safety and to reduce the impact of clients on the surrounding neighborhood. They provide internal queueing for those seeking services. The facilities operate as part of a region-wide coordinated entry and referral system.

Salt Lake City is not the only city where facilities serving the homeless are located. Another 300 bed Homeless Resource Center is located in South Salt Lake, at 3380 S 1000 W. In addition, two other facilities offering detox and residential rehabilitation for homeless individuals with substance use disorders are being built in Salt Lake County (70-90 beds each). One will serve single women and single women with children, and the other will serve single men.

Numerous potential sites were located based on the Criteria for Success (which was created by the Homeless Services Site Evaluation Commission and prioritized by the public during workshops held during the summer of 2016), parcel size, environmental considerations and geographic diversity. The final two sites were chosen because they best met those requirements.

The new facilities were developed with safety in mind. Facilities are designed with clear sight lines, lighting, and good visibility from the street and building. The scattering of locations across the city will also help reduce criminal activity, by decreasing the concentration of people at each site.

The State of Utah has provided funding for the design, construction and operation of the resource facilities and will provide additional funding in the next two legislative sessions. This state funding is also being matched by private donations. There will be no tax increase to pay for the facilities. 

Information on current homeless services and ways to help homeless individuals and families can be found at slchost.org and slco.org/homeless-services/resource-directory/

Three public workshops were held in January 2017 to receive public input on the design of the facilities and how to mitigate community concerns. These workshops focused on three primary design-oriented themes:

• Safety for the users and surrounding neighbors
• Design to mitigate potential negative effects
• Integration into larger neighborhoods