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In hopes that it will keep more people safe this summer, Salt Lake County will pitch in $200,000 to keep open a shelter for homeless families in Midvale past its planned April 1 closing date.
The funding, supplemented with another $300,000 from the state and Salt Lake City, is designed to carry the Road Home Community Winter Shelter financially until the July 1 start of the state's fiscal year, when new money will be available to address homelessness.
But county Mayor Ben McAdams is hoping this extension of the Midvale shelter's operating season also ends up reassuring worried residents that "these facilities are not problems. It's really about helping people move through the system without a negative impact on the community," McAdams said.
That's essentially the goal of the Housing and Homeless Reform Initiative, which the Legislature passed as part of a three-year effort to find housing for a growing population of homeless people. Lawmakers allocated $9.25 million for the project's first year. Comparable amounts of money are expected over the next two years.
Legislators prohibited cities from enforcing ordinances that limited how long shelters could be open in the hope that keeping shelters open year-round would help some people using the facilities.
Midvale had such a restriction on the books, so The Road Home, the nonprofit agency that runs the shelter, had only budgeted for the shelter to remain open through the end of March. Without the extra funding, The Road Home would have sent families to the Salt Lake City shelter, potentially displacing scores of people who had been staying in the downtown facility.
No one wanted that, said county regional development Director Carlton Christensen, who called the funding "an unanticipated need" in pushing the proposal to the County Council on Tuesday.
"We're partnering with the [state] Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake City and small private contributors to close the [financial] gap so families staying in the shelter can stay there," he said.
Christensen said much of the funding will be used for operational expenses, but some money will go toward improving the building's heating and air conditioning system to prepare it for summer.
McAdams said this is a temporary solution, but the county and other stakeholders are looking for long-term fixes.
Located at 529 W. 7300 South, the Midvale facility is in a largely industrial area in need of better road access and sidewalks, he said.
"We're in frequent and continuing conversations" with the Utah Department of Transportation about road issues, McAdams said. He added that the county is working with Canyons School District about summer-school programming for children in the shelter.
There also needs to be a better way for shelter residents to get connected with needed services, he added.
County Council members quickly endorsed the plan.
Calling Midvale "a community with great potential," Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said an improved facility could help the city at an "exciting time" in its history.
Councilman Richard Snelgrove encouraged county officials to get shelter children into summer sports programs and away from trouble.