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This is the first in a series of articles where I will answer specific constituent questions about the issues facing Salt Lake County. A few weeks ago, I invited followers on social media to submit questions, and multiple people asked about homelessness and what the county is doing to address it.
Homelessness is an extremely complex issue without a one-size-fits-all solution. Given that its cause stems from an array of contributing factors, including mental illness, substance abuse, job loss, lack of affordable housing, disabilities, and many more, identifying solutions to meet the needs of Utahns experiencing homelessness is a monumental task. According to the State’s Annual Report on Homelessness, Utah’s 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) metric for counting homelessness saw an increase in the number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. In 2022, of the 7,619 people who enrolled in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or a permanent housing project, 53% of them were experiencing homelessness for the very first time in their lives. Salt Lake County is part of a growing coalition of elected officials, city and state government agencies, business owners, and community organizations working to find lasting solutions and implement the best practices to end homelessness. The result is a robust homeless service system that unites communities and service providers in profoundly new ways. Our shared vision is “to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring so that all people experiencing homelessness can thrive to their fullest potential and that our communities are stable and safe for everyone.” As a collective effort, Salt Lake County helped establish the plan to provide overflow shelter and resources this winter to add 695 beds for Utahns experiencing homelessness. Under a 2023 state law, Salt Lake County implemented Code Blue Alerts. The alerts are issued when temperatures are expected to drop to dangerous levels of 15 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill for 2 hours or more during a 24-hour period. Once an alert is issued, designated shelters across the county expand their services, increase capacity, and expedite intake processes. Additionally, outreach teams increase efforts to transport individuals to resource facilities. This valuable program provides 235 beds in Salt Lake County. While the government is responding to the homeless situation by enforcing “no camping” ordinances, there are other things needed upstream to prevent homelessness. Affordable housing is key. The county contributed Federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) dollars to approve over 200 affordable units over the last two years. There are also needed resources for those with mental health and substance abuse issues. The county is working closely with the state on a new model to improve our homelessness situation. Though the homelessness situation is incredibly complicated, we are working hard to find solutions – both in preventing homelessness and helping those struggling to find a path to self-sufficiency.
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This past month I had the opportunity to meet with a constituent to walk around Swensen Valley Regional Park and hear issues of concern. I brought our Parks and Rec team along and we were thrilled to have the Mayor also join us. Our parks have been well loved the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic as people looked for opportunities to get out of the house.
Community park spaces are a convenient, accessible place for residents to improve their quality of life. Proven benefits from time spent in parks include improved mental health, decreased blood pressure, and increased physical activity levels. Furthermore, parks improve air and water quality and can even increase property values. Many residents have said they enjoy the benefits of outdoor spaces in the company of their dogs. Dogs are allowed at all Salt Lake County parks provided they are on a leash which is controlled by the owner. In addition, there are other dog parks around the valley such as Millrace, Tanner, Sandy, Cottonwood and West Jordan Off-Leash Dog Park. The County also has an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service's Millcreek Canyon that allows dogs off-leash on the canyon trails on odd numbered days. Salt Lake County maintains more than 70 parks throughout the valley, ranging from small neighborhood parks to large regional parks, In 2020 Salt Lake County experienced a record number of people utilizing parks to recreate or as a respite from “home offices”. Currently, the number of people visiting Salt Lake County parks remains higher than pre-COVID numbers. County staff had the challenge of maintaining the parks with high usage while also facing a reduction in our operation budget. Both the county general fund and the TRCC (tourism, recreation, culture, convention) fund were forced to take drastic cuts which impacted Parks and Recreation’s level of service. Revenue from the TRCC fund comes from tourism - restaurants, car rentals and hotels. You can imagine how much this fund suffered during COVID when convention centers were not operating. Park visitors may have noticed drier grass in the parks this summer. Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation implemented water conservation practices during the current drought conditions. Watering times in all parks, especially in passive areas that don’t get as much foot traffic, were reduced. The grass has been allowed to go dormant in order to reduce water consumption. Yellow is the new green, right? Additionally, irrigation systems have been upgraded to smart irrigation systems over the last few years. Smart irrigation systems monitor the weather and the moisture content in the ground to provide data on exactly how much water is needed in each park. As the seasons change, I hope you’ll take advantage of the many personal and community benefits that are offered by our County parks. For a complete list of park locations, services, and amenities, please visit slco.org/parks. |
Aimee Winder Newton
Aimee Winder Newton has served since 2014 and represents Taylorsville, Murray, West Jordan, and West Valley City on the Salt Lake County Council. She was a former 2020 Republican candidate for Utah Governor and was the first woman elected as chair of the Council. Aimee works tirelessly to defend the quality of life in Salt Lake County while protecting tax dollars... [read more]
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Photos from Magic Robot, pedrik, makelessnoise, Hammerin Man, due_mele, Tristan Higbee, kevin dooley, Cassi G
