This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As the weather turns cold, the Road Home will take in most of our community's homeless.
We wait, as four smaller shelters' locations are to be determined. Hopefully, the process can be expedited. It is the season for us to be thankful that we are not the ones looking for shelter. We are grateful to legislators, mayors, committees, private donors and countless other volunteers for putting a plan together to assist our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
After volunteering at the Road Home for the past seven years, I have seen the change in the lives of the families that have been relocated to the new Midvale shelter. The family shelter there is safe, clean and away from the drugs and violence of the Rio Grande area. Within the walls of this location we see a remarkable change in environment, culture and a temporary "home." The parents seem less stressed, there are more volunteers (especially at meal time), staff remains available to assist and serve. The most amazing change is seen in the children: They are happier, maybe a little cleaner, better behaved and trying harder in school. This new shelter is changing lives for the better and it already is at capacity with the overflow going back to the Rio Grande location (just in time for the holidays).
Why are we not seeing the picture that is right in front of us? Why is the press not informing us of this highly functional, successful new family shelter in Midvale? What is the hold-up for determining other sites for the other shelters? Every day without the new facilities we are losing resources, not just money but people's lives.
Chris Russell Jacobs
North Salt Lake