Salt Lake City

Homelessness

  1. SLC.gov
  2. Homelessness
  3. What’s Happening Now

What’s Happening Now

If you or someone you know is experiencing or is at risk of experiencing homelessness, call: 801-990-9999.

This page is updated regularly. Check back for the most recent updates.

Kayak Court & Monthly Resource Fairs

Kayak Court *locations to be determined a week before the scheduled date

September 20

October 18

Resource Fairs (9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)

September 13 at the Downtown Library 

October 11 at Pioneer Park 

November 8 at the Downtown Library

Microshelter Community Update

The buildings have now been moved to the State-owned location on 700 West. The State’s estimated reopening is September/October 2024.

We’re grateful for the partners and community efforts that made the pilot of this non-congregant model at 300 South & 600 West successful this past year.

Read More about the Microshelter Community

Winter Beds Continue into Summer

This past winter saw more overflow beds (600+) available than any year prior, in addition to 200 Code Blue beds, which allowed cities in Salt Lake County to shelter hundreds of more vulnerable people, especially on the coldest nights.

More than 400 of these beds and the homeless resource centers continue to serve the community into the summer, extending their operation beyond the usual end of April. This is a testament to collaboration and a unified plan made possible by State funding.

Planning for Next Winter

Salt Lake County leaders, including Salt Lake City, submitted a new winter plan to the State Office of Homeless Services (OHS) for Salt Lake County in August 2024. The State OHS is currently working with the Winter Task Force members on locating and funding enough beds to fulfill the goal of having an additional 1,000 shelter beds available for the upcoming winter.

Utah and Davis counties have also submitted plans to offer winter services to their residents beginning in October 2024.

Additional Family Shelter

Shelter the Homeless and the Road Home, with funding from The State Office of Homeless Services, have purchased a motel in South Salt Lake and are pursuing permission from the city to open a non-congregate shelter for families in time for this coming winter. This would effectively double the number of beds available for families by augmenting the existing Family Shelter located in Midvale, owned and run by Shelter the Homeless and the Road Home. In previous years, Salt Lake City has provided additional funding to the Road Home for emergency motel rooms and street outreach efforts for families.

Funding from the City’s FY25 Budget

  • Increased funding to double the City’s Rapid Intervention Team, which will deepen the City’s capacity to directly engage with unsheltered individuals and connect them with resources
  • A new position in the City Justice Court to conduct outreach via the Familiar Faces Program that bridges the gap between justice and the unsheltered community, helping complete questionnaires or connect defendants with wraparound services.
  • Deploying an additional Medical Response Paramedic Team
  • Fill the remaining SLCPD positions in the Downtown Police Unit. It functions similarly to HRC squads.

Salt Lake County’s 5-Year Plan

The County is a major funder of mental health, substance abuse, and other homeless services.

Mayor Jenny Wilson and Salt Lake County shared the County’s first-ever 5-year action plan to tackle homelessness, behavioral health challenges, and criminal justice reform in Salt Lake County. Read the County’s plan.

As part of the plan, the County is asking residents to vote on a $507 million bond to fund the construction of a Justice and Accountability Center (JAC) and consolidate and improve the County Jail this fall. The current plans call for a renovation of the current jail and expanded capacity for mental health and substance use treatment options in the jail. The proposed JAC will offer transition services for those exiting the jail without immediate housing or other support services. These are important improvements to assist in preventing homelessness from jail and offering more diversion into long-term supportive services.

Utah Office of Homeless Services Releases Annual Data Report

On Aug. 16, the state released its Annual Report Dashboard on Homelessness, an analysis of the state’s homeless system. For the first time, the report is not printed into booklet form but is an interactive online dashboard, available for the public to get relevant data about homelessness statewide. 

  • In 2023, Utah saw a 9% increase in people experiencing homelessness for the first time
  • There was a 4% increase in individuals accessing emergency shelter and transitional housing, compared to 2022
  • 80% of people engaging in the emergency shelter system spent 90 days or less in shelter
  • 93% of people housed by long-term housing projects maintained their housing or obtained permanent housing outside the project

One note about the new dashboard–this year’s data is presented for calendar year (January-December 2023). Previous annual reports followed a federal fiscal year schedule that differed from the new time frame, so some data comparisons to previous years might need to be adjusted. The dashboard is available at: https://jobs.utah.gov/homelessness/homelessannualdata.html