Utah officials preparing for another winter with an increasing homeless population

When it comes to housing costs, the U.S. government uses a simple ratio to determine the ideal price: A house should cost the same as three years of salary, 3:1.

In Utah, three years will not even get you a living room and kitchen. Most recent data shows you need an average of 6.2 years of salary to purchase a home in the Beehive State, which has the third highest housing prices in the nation, behind Hawaii and California.

Wages across the country, Utah included, are not increasing at the same rate as housing costs, leading not only to trouble paying for housing — if you have it — but trouble keeping homelessness at bay. As Steve Waldrip, Gov. Spencer Cox’s senior adviser on housing strategy and innovation, states, the data above and more information from the Utah Office of Homelessness Services shows that ability to own a home is a key to preventing homelessness.

“Last year, we had 5,000 new homeless individuals in Salt Lake County,” he said. “With elevated pricing comes increasing pressure and we see more homelessness. But the most protected, or the most sure way to have housing stability is to have home ownership … and we’re seeing more and more people frozen out the housing market.”

On Tuesday, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget hosted a virtual discussion on housing and homelessness in the state. Participants received updated data and information about what appears to be working.

The message is being sent that homelessness and housing are issues to address now, given that without solutions, what will happen to Utah’s young people and children? Current data demonstrates that while Utah continues to grow, mostly from the movement of people from other Western states to Utah, young Utahns are moving out of state to the South and Midwest, places where they can afford a home.

There is not enough housing in the state, one of the many reasons for the increase in housing costs. Waldrip did note that the state does plan to build 35,000 starter homes over the next four years, but that does not answer the need for housing to prevent homelessness today.

Tricia Davis Winter, the assistant director of the Utah Office of Homelessness Services, notes the state has tried a variety of programs and solutions to get and keep those living in homelessness off the streets and into homes. In 2004, under Lloyd Pendleton, the “housing first” model was used, in which those living in homelessness were given places to live first and services later.

Utah now practices a services-first model, with hopes of getting people living in homelessness into homes as soon as possible once they have received the services they need.

But without any new affordable housing units, as well as an ever-increasing price of housing and rents, it is logical that — as much as advocates, nonprofit leaders and state officials may want to solve homelessness in Utah — there is no easy fix. That’s especially true this time of year.

“For the last many, many years … we have had to scramble — for lack of a better word — on finding additional emergency shelter,” Winter said. “The need we identified is for an additional 900 emergency shelter beds for the winter period.”

Despite the increases in everything but wages, progress is taking place, state leaders said.

Under HB548, passed during the last legislative session, consumers who purchase anything at Utah state liquor stores will have the opportunity to “round up” their purchase to the next whole dollar amount. The amount rounded up will be deposited in the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account. These new funds will go directly to homelessness services and prevention. The program began this week.

A pilot micro-shelter program, which was examined last year, will continue for the time being. What has been described by Winter as a “wildly successful” project, the program targets people who are not in any of the area shelters but still need services.

Local officials say the state is discussing the topic of homelessness more and more each day. Long gone are the days when homelessness was a topic that only affected one group of people. Long gone are the days when programs were created only to be closed before results could be seen.

“We’ve had our ups and downs when it comes to homelessness and how we deliver services,” said Tara Rollins from the Utah Housing Coalition. “Sometimes we take five steps back and one step forward, but I think the things we’re doing are really starting to take shape in a very good way.”