New Homeless Resource Center May Be Overflowing When It Opens
Oct 23, 2019, 9:32 AM | Updated: 1:44 pm
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah – The news men’s facility in South Salt Lake hasn’t even opened its doors, but is estimated to already not have enough room based on the number of people currently at the Road Home.
“We’re about 100 more than we would normally see,” said Jonathan Hardy, the Division Director for Housing and Community Development.
Hardy said one of the reasons there are more people at The Road Home in the Rio Grande area of Salt Lake City is people are staying longer. Currently it’s housing more than 400 men.
The new shelter only has enough beds for 300. However, Hardy said the overflow issue will be addressed in an upcoming meeting with Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and other state leaders.
One option could be to leave The Road Home open as an overflow site. Other options include motel vouchers, alternative facilities and community partners who can accommodate overflow.
“These are not new people to our system,” Hardy said. “These are people we’ve known. … It’s really about people are staying longer right now, and we want to focus on getting those people connected to housing, which is the emphasis of the new homeless resource centers.”
On a quarterly basis, the average length of stay at a homeless resource center is 45 days, he said. The goal is to get it down to 40 days.
The South Salt Lake Shelter is scheduled to open the second or third week of November. A public open house will be Nov. 5.
