This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake County's proposal to build a homeless resource center in either West Valley City or South Salt Lake is completely outrageous and should be re-evaluated.
Having grown up in both West Valley City and Kearns, I have witnessed time and time again the shoddy manner in which the west side is treated. Too often, they get the short end of the stick. It's a wonderful place to live, but how much can we expect of one area? Prisons, jails, halfway houses and homeless shelters abound on the west side, but there is precious little of that on the east side.
The proposed shelter on Sugar House's Simpson Avenue is in close proximity to my residence, and I, for one, was looking forward to having a shelter in the area. Due to the unfortunate "not in my backyard" ramblings of my supposedly liberal neighbors, that site has been abandoned and now the west side is being expected to shoulder the burden yet again. This is wrong on so many levels. It's high time for the east side to join in the experience of hosting homeless shelters.
Ryan D. Curtis
Salt Lake City