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Majority Whip Rep. Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, sat alongside Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams Monday morning to inform the Social Services Appropriations Committee that efforts to fight homelessness in Utah will cost more than $27 million.
Of that amount, Gibson said $20 million would be a one-time request to fund two housing projects for the homeless residing in Salt Lake County. At least one of these facilities would be created specifically for families with children.
The $7 million request annual rehabilitative services funding would be divided between two outlets with $4 million going to case workers, case management, housing assistance, the transitional process and other services in Salt Lake County and the remaining $3 million being placed in the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund, where it would be appropriated for statewide initiatives after individual entities apply for a grant.
Gibson said he understood what a big number $20 million is and that he's aware that even if the whole amount were allocated at one time, it would not be available for use in the next fiscal year.
"So you're going to see this come in a series of requests over the next three years," he said. "This year we'll be asking for $7 million one-time with $2.5 million ongoing, and [we'll] ramp that up over the next few years to get to the $20 million one-time and $7 million ongoing."
Each year in their presentation, Gibson said supporters would share the "significant progress" they've made and specific plans for programs housed within the units and the populations who will be served there.
McAdams said the hope is to reform the system, much like has been done with criminal justice and health care, "to help people move to a greater degree of self-reliance and stability."
He wants to prevent "the ultimate crisis of homelessness" by finding solutions for people at the beginning stages of crisis "rather than putting out fires" after they've occurred.
Biskupski said supporters intend to bring in parties from throughout the state that are affected by homelessness, such as St. George, Ogden and West Valley City, in the effort to minimize the problem.
"I am confident moving forward that with the kind of funding we are asking [for], that we can change what is happening in downtown Salt Lake and other parts of the county in a very significant way," she said.