Why We Need Better Dialogue on Homeless Shelter Population Impacts

By now you’ve likely heard about the unexpected announcement that single men will be housed at the homeless resource center abutting the Jordan River Trail. Last week, more than fifty elected officials in Salt Lake County called for public dialogue about the homeless populations through a joint letter. Below is the letter in its entirety:

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Dear members of Shelter the Homeless Board:

As community leaders of the neighborhoods along the Jordan River, we express our appreciation for the commitment you continue to show to find better solutions for homelessness in our state. We applaud state and local leaders who have sought improvements to the tools we provide our homeless population to help them get back on their feet, while being responsive to the impacts of homelessness on our businesses, neighborhoods, and community as a whole.

As the new process moves forward, establishing a new resource center along the Jordan River Parkway in South Salt Lake, we encourage a continued thoughtful approach for how best to mitigate impacts to surrounding neighborhoods while providing more effective homeless services. This is particularly important along the Jordan River Parkway.

Since 1971, cities and the county have put extensive effort and funding toward enhancing and preserving the Jordan River Parkway as an inviting recreational greenway, an economic development driver, and a healthy riparian ecosystem. It is an integral component of our communities, an extension of our backyards, and an actively used transportation alternative. In short - it is a gem of open space in the heart of Salt Lake County.

​We have invested more than $22 million in the trail in the past seven years alone, creating a 45- mile trail. It extends from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake, providing countless families safe and healthy outdoor recreation close to home. Trail users take their families and young children on walks to enjoy the natural beauty, recreation enthusiasts use the trail for exercise and even commuting, and a multitude of plant and animal life thrives in this protected natural environment.

With such extensive financial investment spanning more than 40 years, and such a beautiful piece of open space for our residents, we all recognize the need to continue to preserve this investment. We are committed to finding better solutions to empower our homeless residents to overcome a challenging circumstance. We are equally committed to preserving community resources that may be impacted.

We believe that a high-risk homeless population abutting the Jordan River Parkway trail could impact trail users, or make the public more afraid to use the trail in this area. Our goal has been to increase safety and help residents feel more comfortable walking and biking on the trail. This new resource center has the potential to drastically impact our goals for the parkway. We would request that you designate a lower risk population(s) at this particular shelter since it is the only shelter directly abutting designated open space for public use. If the homeless resource center was located next to Bonneville Shoreline Trail or Dimple Dell Trail, surely the public would expect a thorough dialogue about the best population to house there. We look forward to participating in that discussion as it relates to the Jordan River Parkway.

In Utah, we take care of our people and we take care of our investments. We believe we can do both with great success, if we have a thoughtful conversation about the population best suited to become new neighbors with this great regional asset, and the best mitigation to protect it for future generations.

Sincerely,

Aimee Winder Newton –  Salt Lake County Council  
Steve DeBry –  Salt Lake County Council  
Richard Snelgrove –  Salt Lake County Council  
Michael Jensen –  Salt Lake County Council  
Max Burdick –  Salt Lake County Council  
Cherie Wood - South Salt Lake Mayor  
Mark Kindred –  South Salt Lake City Council   
Ben Pender –  South Salt Lake City Council  
Portia Mila –  South Salt Lake City Council  
Sharla Beverly –  South Salt Lake City Council  
Shane Siwik –  South Salt Lake City Council  
Johnny McConnell –  South Salt Lake City Council  
Kevin Rapp –  South Salt Lake City Council  
Karen Mayne - State Senator  
Wayne Harper - State Senator  
Jani Iwamoto - State Senator  
Lincoln Fillmore - State Senator  
Daniel Thatcher - State Senator  
Jim Dunnigan - State Representative  
Carol Spackman Moss –  State Representative  
Elizabeth Weight –  State Representative  
Mike Winder - State Representative  
Kim Coleman - State Representative  
Adam Gardiner - State Representative  
Craig Hall - State Representative  
John Knotwell - State Representative  
Mark Wheatley - State Representative  
Bill Applegarth - Riverton Mayor  
Trent Staggs - Riverton City Council  
Sheldon Stewart –  Riverton City Council  
Derk Timothy - Bluffdale Mayor  
Zach Jacob – West Jordan City Council  
Jeff Silvestrini - Mayor Millcreek City  
Dwight Marchant –  Millcreek City Council  
Cheri Jackson - Millcreek City Council  
Bev Uipi - Millcreek City Council   
Silvia Catten - Millcreek City Council   
Larry Johnson - Taylorsville Mayor  
Dama Barbour –  Taylorsville City Council  
Kristie Overson –  Taylorsville City Council  
Dan Armstrong –  Taylorsville City Council   
Don Christensen –  West Valley City Council  
Karen Lang - West Valley City Council  
Michele Weeks - Draper City Council  
Carmen Freeman –  Mayor Herriman City  
Coralee Wessman-Moser –  Herriman City Council  
Nicole Martin - Herriman City Council  
Jared Henderson –  Herriman City Council  
David Alvord - Mayor South Jordan  
Tamara Zander –  South Jordan City Council  
Chris McCandless –  Sandy City Council  
Kris Nichol - Sandy City Council 

This letter was sent to the board members of the nonprofit organization Shelter the Homeless.