What more is there to say that hasn’t already been said. Marita and I drove around Salt Lake City a few days ago and there were campers everywhere.
I remember being on Rio Grande Street four years ago, getting up close and personal with a member of Mayor Jackie Biskupski’s staff. I was upset with what was happening. Bulldozers were pushing trash around and scooping up the tents and personal belongings of campers. Social workers and police were everywhere.
At that time, it was Biskupski, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, Biskupski’s deputy chief of staff, David Litvack, House Speaker Greg Hughes and Police Chief Mike Brown who were telling us how their “plan” would solve the homeless problem in Salt Lake City. Not only the homeless problem, but also the drug problem.
Maybe we could schedule an event. Invite them all and, in the midst of the dysfunction that has returned to the area, listen to them tell us about what a great job they did. And they will tell us.
Marita and I talked to a couple of homeless folks in the area the other day. One regularly attended our program. We operate a street program for the homeless. Good kid, and I’d guess he’s been on the street forever. He once stayed at the mission, but is now in a tent.
The other wasn’t really a conversation, but an experience. Mary was sitting on the curb on Rio Grande Street, hair disheveled, surrounded by blankets, waving her arms and talking to herself.
What troubled us about the experiences is that both have been homeless or struggling with mental health issues for years. I know The Kid has been in all sorts of programs and, well, he’s still in a tent.
I have constantly asked county and city mayors for data that reflects the reality of our mental health and addiction programs and get nothing.
The legislative auditors have found that nothing seems to be working, or they stated that there is no documentation to support the idea that current programs are actually helping people living in tents in our city.
The same for drug courts and jails and the programs to which they refer people.
Both Mary and The Kid were in tents four blocks from the Latter-day Saint temple, five blocks from City Hall and within viewing distance of the state Capitol and surrounded by service providers.
They were not alone. Rio Grande Street, 300 South and 500 West, 930 South, 100 South and 200 West, Liberty Park, 700 South and Main Street, Sugar House, the Jordan River Parkway, tents in front of the Salt Lake City Police Department and in the North Temple, area are where hundreds of homeless campers sleep and live outside, in the cold, in Salt Lake City.
We believe the first step in finding a solution is acknowledging that what is currently being done isn’t working. The second step is looking for new experts with new ideas, ideas that actually work.
Homelessness is a top priority for the new mayor. How is she planning on doing what those that came before her couldn’t?
I hope it’s not by resorting to sending in the bulldozers and cops in and once again moving The Kid and Mary. Maybe forcing them to move to Ogden, or to somewhere where we can’t see them. And then once again telling us what a great job everyone is doing.
All the while demonstrating how easy it is to spend so much money and accomplish nothing.
Mary and The Kid are on our mind.
Bernie and Marita Hart
Bernie Hart, his wife, Marita, and their nonprofit, Understanding Us, are exploring new ideas about what causes depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and applying the ideas through new street programs for the homeless.