SALZSTADT (KUTV) –
The crews closed and cleaned up a homeless camp in downtown Salt Lake City. But just a few hours later, it’s hard to see what has actually changed.
The closure and removal of the warehouse on Rio Grande Street took place on Thursday morning. Salt Lake County Health Department crews took “15 dump trucks with abandoned items and debris,” a spokesman said Thursday morning.
But just a few hours after that operation, the street was again lined with people, supplies and rubbish.
“Unfortunately, I am not surprised that there are already some objects and debris on Rio Grande Street,” said Nicholas Rupp, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Department of Health. “It is not uncommon for us to leave an area and immediately inhabit it again.”
The situation concerns Dave Kelly, chairman of the Pioneer Park Coalition.
“To make it go that fast, it doesn’t work anymore,” said Kelly, looking out over the street on Thursday afternoon. He pointed out tarpaulins, tents, and people who did not seem to have any intention of continuing.
It’s a no-win situation so I have to give the city and county credit for what they’re doing and still stay engaged, ”said Kelly. “But the mistakes don’t go back and look at the gaps that are created by the camps that are about to come back.”
The closure and cleanup were announced in advance. A resource fair was held on Tuesday to help the people living there get into more stable situations. City guides said the camp in Rio Grande – and another one in the city’s “fleet block” near 800 South 300 West – has grown too big and unsafe.
2News spoke to a man named JB on Thursday afternoon, who said he had lived on Rio Grande Street for several weeks. He said he and his girlfriend were getting ready to leave, but he didn’t know where they were going to end up.
“It’s a good question,” said JB. “We’ll find something.”
JB said the crews on Thursday morning were “very patient with us. Nobody rushed us. “He said he understood why officials wanted to clean up the street because” it’s kind of beaten down here. “
Kelly, the chairman of the Pioneer Park Coalition, said Rio Grande Street was “not a safe street” in its current state. He is eagerly awaiting the appointment of the state’s new homelessness coordinator, a position created by House Bill 347 during this year’s legislature. It is part of a restructuring of the way the state is dealing with this growing problem.
Kelly believes that a single point person can help solve this problem by examining “what bugs are there and what gaps there are in the system that need to be fixed in order for this to stop happening.”
However, it is not clear when this homelessness coordinator will be in place. A spokeswoman for Governor Spencer Cox just told 2News that the search for this person would begin in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, the homeless camp along the “fleet block” is due to be closed next week. The city plans to offer resources to the people who live there before the camp is closed and cleaned up.
Rupp, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health, described the fight against homeless camps as a “patch” for a bigger problem.
It can be difficult for employees’ work ethic to do the same thing over and over in the same area, “said Rupp.” That is why we need the participation of all partners in order to find long-term and sustainable solutions for homelessness. ”
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