Why is homelessness increasing?

Research shows that as housing prices increase in a community, homelessness also tends to increase. Salt Lake City is no exception to this trend, but homelessness is on the rise across the United States.

How can we prevent homelessness?

The best way to reduce homelessness is to try and stop people from becoming homeless in the first place. There are rental assistance and homelessness prevention programs that are operated by nonprofit agencies listed in the Resources section of this website. Additionally, increasing the amount of affordable housing units in the city, the County, and the State can help keep people housed.

What’s the difference between sheltered and unsheltered homelessness?

In 2019, our community shifted from a co-located sheltering model to multiple scattered site, population specific Homeless Resource Centers. This was in response to the need for greater supportive services and a system-wide focus on getting people moved quickly from shelter and into housing. The state of Utah, Salt Lake County, and Salt Lake City are united in the goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring for anyone in our community who has to experience it.

No two people experience homelessness the same. Some people, after experiencing a housing crisis, will go directly to a homeless resource center and will quickly resolve homelessness on their own or access the housing services available there and will move back into a place of their own within a few weeks. Others decide that shelter doesn’t fit their life, or they don’t feel like they fit into shelter programs and they choose to camp. Some find it difficult to get into shelter, or find it tough to follow the expectations of different shelter programs. In order to make shelters welcoming places, our community’s homeless resource centers operate on a low-barrier model, meaning that some allow pets, some allow partners, and all are open 24/7. None require proof of sobriety before entry, but they do not allow possession of illegal substances on their property.

Why do people camp?

According to the most comprehensive research we have available on encampments, a study completed by HUD in late 2018, unsheltered people form encampments for a variety of reasons but the most common are:

The individuals feel that shelter options available don’t work for them and they feel a sense of relative safety and community in encampments.

They are looking for a sense of autonomy and privacy that they don’t think they can get in shelter.

The individual prioritizes access to illegal substances over shelter services.

Why not just let people camp?

Managed encampments have been considered by the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, and decided against them as an overflow strategy. There are many associated risk factors with this, and it is not considered a best practice nationally. At this time the coalition has decided to develop non-congregate overflow shelter spaces to bring people indoors this winter overflow season.

Clearance with support and resources, which is what we’re attempting to do with the Community Commitment Program, shows promise in reducing on-street camping. This is according to this study done by HUD.

While all residents of Salt Lake City can sympathize with the desires for community, autonomy, and privacy that many people who camp are looking for, we as a City cannot sacrifice the safety of our neighborhoods when encampments become associated with crime and environmental degradation.

Understanding the need for both neighborhood safety and help for vulnerable people, the City takes a service-first approach and tries to resolve homeless encampments via homeless outreach before making people move.

If a camp is relatively small, clean, and law abiding, then the City works with outreach partners alone to get the people in that camp to accept services.

If a camp is growing, or it includes public health risks, the camp is referred to the County Health Department for Encampment Impact Mitigation (EIM). An EIM alone is not necessarily a displacement, but it is an opportunity for people living encamped to meet cleanliness standards and to accept the shelter and supportive services made available in our community. Learn more about EIMs here.

If a camp is large, includes major public health or safety risks, or is located near something meant to serve other vulnerable populations (like a school or a senior center or a homeless resource center), then the City coordinates intensive outreach projects intended to bring people indoors and then closes that area to camping in partnership with the Salt Lake County Health Department and with ongoing law enforcement presence.

When shelter beds are available, the City will enforce its camping ordinance through criminal citations and custodial arrests if people refuse the option of shelter and refuse to move out of public spaces.

What are the roles of the City, County, and State in response to unsheltered encampments?

The State and Salt Lake County are, as written in state code, responsible to provide services for people experiencing homelessness. Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City participate in a local homeless coordinating committee called the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness. This Coalition is made up of government entities, service providers, advocates, and people with lived experience. The Coalition helps coordinate the development of new services provided for people experiencing homelessness, whether that is new shelter, overflow shelter, or other programs that are meant to end homelessness in our community. The Coalition is supported by staff at Salt Lake County.

The Salt Lake County Health Department is charged with protecting public health, and enforces environmental health regulations with regard to on-street camping. Usually, what this looks like is a procedure called a camp abatement, and it requires people to pick up camp and move while all environmental risk factors associated with that camp are removed. This can be human waste, discarded needles, or wet or soiled belongings, as well as abandoned belongings.

One of any city’s most important functions is to keep its residents safe. The City invests millions of tax and grant dollars each year into programs that we know will mitigate or end people’s housing crises, and we do everything we can to encourage people living encamped to come indoors. The City takes in data on encampment concerns coming from our different neighborhoods, and works with partners to coordinate appropriate responses to those encampments. More information on what those responses look like can be found below.

What research and resources guide actions on this topic?

The team at Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness stay closely aware of emerging and established best practices for helping people end their housing crises. The following links are some helpful resources that inform our homeless services system and the steps that Salt Lake City takes to respond to unsheltered encampments:

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Understanding-Encampments.pdf

https://endhomelessness.org/resource/unsheltered-homelessness-trends-causes-strategies-address/

What about an Emergency order?

Salt Lake City is currently not pursuing an emergency order concerning our statewide homelessness crisis because it would not create any new powers or open up federal funding available to us right now. State law also clearly defines how a mayor may declare a state of emergency–homelessness does not meet those definitions today.

Is there a place to go for everyone who needs it?

In the winter months, SLC cooperates in the Winter Overflow sheltering plan process as outlined in Utah State Code Section 35A-16-505.5. The City is partnering with the State and County to ensure increased safe shelter for all through programs like the Temporary Shelter Community, Sequential Intercept (Miami) model, and other options as they are identified.

Camping is impacting my business, how do I get help?

The SLC Mobile app (Android and iOS) and MySLC are the best ways to communicate your concerns about a camp to the City.If you’re concerned about criminal activity associated with a camp, contact your SLCPD District Community Liaison. If you see an emergency, call 911.

I’m concerned about encampments, how do I get help?

If you see anything that needs attention in our City’s public spaces, please use the SLC Mobile app (Android and iOS) to report it to us or https://www.myslc.gov/.

If people are participating in illegal and dangerous activities, concerns should be directed to the Police Department.

What are you doing to make housing more affordable so people don’t reach homelessness?

There are three key pillars to housing affordability: 

1. Producing more housing, especially affordable housing
2. Preserving existing affordable housing
3. Protecting tenants

Through Housing SLC and Thriving in Place, the City is addressing these three areas. It isn’t enough to simply build ourselves out of our current crisis. We also have to ensure that the existing housing we have is preserved, especially if that housing is affordable. But we also need to bolster tenant protections and services. In Utah, cities are limited in what they can do on tenant protections – we can’t institute rent control or change landlord-tenant laws, for instance – but we can offer more and better resources.

Producing more housing is the most visible of these efforts. Everyone can see a new building being constructed. Zoning changes that allow for increased density also require public processes. Preserving affordable housing and protecting tenants are not as visible, but they are also incredibly impactful. The City works with and funds partners to deed-restrict housing so that it remains affordable long-term, we operate and are trying to grow a community land trust, and we fund organizations that provide education, mediation, and legal aid to tenants. 

By taking an “all of the above” approach, we are hoping to shift the landscape to be more friendly to tenants and more affordable now and in the future.

What is Thriving in Place?

Thriving in Place is an anti-displacement strategy that was adopted by the City Council in October 2023. The strategy was developed through a community- and data-driven process over two years. Thriving in Place identifies 22 strategic priorities for the City to work on, with many of those strategies identified as near-term action items. Thriving in Place hopes to mitigate the impacts of investment and growth in our city by helping keep people housed – preventing homelessness – and in their communities.

How is the City planning to address the affordable housing crisis?

June 2023, the City Council adopted a new housing plan called Housing SLC that sets goals and strategies for addressing the housing crisis over the next five years. These goals include

• Entitling at least 10,000 new housing units
  • At least 2,000 deeply affordable (less than 30% AMI)
  • At least 2,000 affordable (31%-80% AMI)
• Increase housing stability in the city
• Increase ownership opportunities for 1,000 low-income residents

These goals are supported by 44 unique action items that include land use policy, funding, programmatic support, and more.

Why doesn’t the City have rent control?

In Utah, cities are not allowed to enact rent control by Utah Code Section 57-20-1, which prohibits cities from enacting ordinances or resolutions that control rents or fees on private residential property.

If there are beds available in shelters, should I expect not to see camps in the City?

Shelter space availability changes throughout each day. Shelter utilization data is a lot like ICU data, in that there’s an “effectively full” rate of about 95% for each HRC. When our shelter utilization is low, the City will take more assertive steps to reduce on-street camping. When shelter utilization is high, the City will still work to resolve camps, but it may take longer to tackle than a quick call to police or a submission on the SLC Mobile app (Android and iOS).

Are there resources for youth who are experiencing homelessness?

The Youth Resource Center, located at 888 S. 400 West in Salt Lake City, provides shelter and resources for youth ages 15-22. Operated by the VOA, it provides meals, showers, laundry, case management, and access to medical and mental health services on-site. From 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. it transitions into a 30-bed emergency shelter. For more information, call 801-364-0744 ext. 707.

Are there resources available for victims and survivors of domestic violence?

The State of Utah provides resources for individuals impacted by domestic violence. This includes emergency shelters, crisis lines, case management, and children’s services.

Salt Lake City Police Department has Victims’ Advocates, who are trained to help connect individuals with resources and advocate for them within the criminal justice system. Those in need can call the 24-hour free, anonymous hotline: 801-580-7969, or also call the Utah LINKLine at 1-800-897-5465 for confidential assistance.

Are there places for individuals experiencing homelessness to access showers, toilets, etc.?

Toilets and showers are available at the Homeless Resource Centers. The City has placed roaming port-a-potty stations periodically in camping hot spots. A “Portland Loo” was installed near the old Road Home location, and a bathroom is provided to people experiencing homelessness on Library Square.

The challenge with restrooms is they need round-the-clock staffing to ensure they stay clean and don’t become hot spots for drug trafficking or other dangerous behavior. The City is not opposed to looking at more permanent public restroom solutions but needs to balance public safety and restroom access equally.

Why not turn empty buildings into shelters?

Creating shelter is more complex than just opening a building. There are livability standards, fire codes, the need for safety, staffing, and supportive services like mental health, addiction counseling, and more.\

We agree there needs to be more space. To address this gap, we need a combination of:

• Increased emergency shelter space, ideally year-round. This work is done through both the State Office of Homeless Services and the local homelessness coalition
• While Salt Lake City has increased beds in each of the resource centers this past year, the operators are not able to maintain them due to space constraints in the buildings and staffing shortages.
• Another lowest-barrier shelter option, which we’ve been working with the State Office of Homeless Services on this year. The microshelter will be piloted in Salt Lake City this winter before the State moves it to a more permanent location in 2024.
• Increased affordable housing, with a focus on permanent supportive housing units for those experiencing chronic homelessness, mental illness, and substance use disorders.

Can I drop off food for unsheltered individuals?

On occasion, a well-meaning person may drop food off at an encampment where there isn’t sufficient infrastructure in place (like trash cans, bathrooms, or options for refrigeration), and the food ends up spoiling or being tossed in the street. This can lead to the development of some of the environmental concerns that trigger the need for an EIM. There are organizations that provide food, clothing, and other necessities to people living unsheltered. Donating your time or money to those organizations is both helpful to unsheltered people, and helps keep the city clean and safe.