Crossing the Great Chasm From Ward of the State to Productive Citizen In response to a reader's comment: on Reddit: I've actually been doing an assignment surrounding homelessness and a part of me wishes I've chosen another social issue. The more I learn the more I get depressed. I have no idea what the solutions are, and it appears to me as if there may be none to speak … [Read more...]
Are Salt Lake Homeless Resource Centers a Failure for the Neighborhoods that Welcomed Them?
Back in 2016 amidst a surge in crime/lawlessness and homeless, both Salt Lake City and Utah state leaders devised a plan called Operation Rio Grande. State leaders on the “homeless task force” including Representative Greg Huges and then Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox along with former Mayor Jackie Biskupski all decided to close the Road Home, (1,000-bed homeless shelter) and … [Read more...]
The Utah Homeless Conundrum: Salt Lake’s Unsheltered Not Able to Find Shelter while Winter Is Approaching
There is a false dichotomy: downtown Salt Lake City residents cannot be both compassionate for the homeless and compassionate to business owners and residents. Downtown Salt Lake City October 26th —Witnessing first-hand the temperature drop below freezing along with Salt Lake City Police’s futile tug-of-war against the Salt Lake City homeless community was something akin to … [Read more...]
Why More Homeless Spending Is Resulting in More Homeless People
Danielle Ahn is running for Salt Lake County District Attorney. Working closely with the homeless resource providers she has some inside knowledge about how the "homeless industrial complex" is operating, providing huge amounts of money to homeless service providers without providing services to homeless individuals. She describes the operation as a "revolving door" between … [Read more...]
Releasing Murderers in Utah Needs to Stop, Says Danielle Ahn
Danielle Ahn is a Salt Lake City attorney taking on current Sim Gill to become Salt Lake County’s next District Attorney. Danielle Ahn has a strong opinion about the ways in which far too many violent offenders are being released under current Salt Lake County DA Sim Gill’s office. These offenders are getting away without prison time, or even felony charges being brought … [Read more...]
The $300 Million Utah Homeless Question
Answered by Utah’s Foremost State Auditor $200-$300 million is spent every year on Utah’s homeless services. Is this money reducing homelessness? Utah State Auditor with 36 years of experience says “No”. Should the Homeless in Salt Lake City be allowed to camp all day in our parks and on the sides of the streets? Use drugs in front of businesses? For the past few years, … [Read more...]
Utah’s Unsolved Mysteries: Can the Public Help Solve Utah’s Cold Cases?
Years after Cody Lynn Dodge was found dead in his West Valley City home, who shot him remains a mystery. Investigators say there was no forced entry into the residence, indicating the 27-year-old knew his killer. However, nothing that has been learned so far about the Sept. 21, 2008 slaying has led to an arrest and the case has gone cold. Jimmy Gerald Barney never left … [Read more...]
Utah’s Scary Housing Market
Ghosts and goblins have a better chance of finding affordable housing than young couples in Utah. Today, when developers in Utah claim to build “affordable housing”, they are now talking about two-bedroom townhomes that can sell for around $400,000. So homeless advocates had to come up with a new term: “deeply-affordable housing”, which is housing for around $200,000- … [Read more...]
Rampant Crime is Forcing Residents to Leave Ballpark Neighborhood in Salt Lake City
Amy J. Hawkins moved to the Ballpark Neighborhood in Salt Lake City back in 2013, when she relocated from Washington D.C. to Salt Lake City to teach medical school students at the University of Utah. Like many transplants, the urban lifestyle of living near a ballpark and near a Trax station appealed to Hawkins. "I was afraid of the snow, so the idea of riding a train to … [Read more...]
Crime Rate Soaring in Salt Lake Neighborhoods with Homeless Resource Centers
Utah Stories attended press conference organized the Pioneer Park Coalition where the coalition released its plans to curtail the problems of homelessness and crime that are plaguing Salt Lake City. The Pioneer Park Coalition is made up of concerned residents, citizens, and business owners who believe that the homeless policy for Salt Lake City needs to change. Amy J. … [Read more...]