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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Thursday that a temporary sanctioned homeless campground — a first for the state and city — is coming to Utah's capitol city.
"Everybody deserves a safe, warm place to sleep at night year-round. We haven't had that, not enough of it," Mendenhall said. "This winter, I'm proud to say that the availability of a safe, reliable space will be a reality for more people."
The campground will be located at 558 W. 300 South and is anticipated to open in November and close by April as a pilot project. It will serve around 50 people, utilizing the $500,000 set aside by the Salt Lake City Council and state investments to do so.
Thursday's announcement comes just a week after Mendenhall assured citizens in a forum on housing and homelessness that "we are opening a sanctioned campground in Utah."
What the campground will not have are campsites consisting of tents for unsheltered people. Instead, it boasts a mini-shelter model observed in other cities by Utah and Salt Lake City officials. The model has "pods," or small individual facilities that can lock, offering more security and privacy to those who are hesitant to enter a homeless resource shelter.
"If we're going to do this, it had to be done right," Mendenhall said. "It had to be done sustainably and safely for residents and for our neighbors in this community, and it must be carried out in partnership with the state of Utah. And that's exactly what we're going to do here, because 'out of sight out of mind' is not a solution and it is not humane."
The announcement was applauded by Salt Lake City Council members who had been calling for a sanctioned campground for years.
"I'm feeling incredibly emotional as I stand here because, since day one, when I came in — making sure that our city responds to a humanitarian crisis with as many diverse, unique responses, as there are reasons for — homelessness has been a priority for me, and a sanctioned camp has been one of my priorities," said Victoria Petro-Eschler, the Salt Lake city councilwoman who represents District 1.
"No one can claim they will solve this problem by themselves, but this is the beginning of something better than we have right now. What we see down the street, it is not the solution," said Alejando Puy, city councilman for District 2. "Unsanctioned camping, where everything goes, is not the solution. We need something dignified for those living on the streets, and we need something that works for the neighbors, as well."
The 50 units will serve as transitional units during the winter overflow period, with residents being selected by providers and outreach teams. The temporary shelter's perimeter will be fenced for security, appropriate lighting will be installed, and the site will also include portable restrooms and washing stations. The site will be monitored 24/7, and staff will always be on the premises.
"This is something we've envisioned for quite some time, and we've been planning on it. Probably for over a year, we've looked at different models across the country," said Utah Homeless Coordinator Wayne Niederhauser. "It's an exciting time to find a place for us to implement this plan."
A provider, which will be contracted through the state, will develop and manage day-to-day operations on the site. Applications will be opened by the state next week with a 10-day deadline. The operator will be selected by the Utah Office of Homeless Services by mid-October, with the campground anticipated to open in early November.
In March, a plan released by the Utah Office of Homeless Services to help combat homelessness stated that by 2025, "the state of Utah will identify public land to develop safe parking, structured sanctioned encampments and high access shelter."
The state is on track to beat its anticipated deadline by a year. After its closure on April 30, the campground shelter will be moved to the state's second phase at a permanent state-owned location. The goal of Phase 2 is to implement lessons learned from the pilot project's duration and open by 2024.
Homeless advocates celebrated the decision on Thursday and acknowledged efforts by the state and city to meet the diverse needs.
"Two and a half years ago everyone was telling us that it was impossible and never going to happen, stop talking about it. And we just kept talking about it and kept bringing people to come talk about it," said Kseniya Kniazeva, founder of Nomad Alliance. "I'm really proud that it was the unsheltered voices that swayed the city council in this direction."
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly identified the address as 558 W. 500 South, instead of 558 W. 300 South.
