With dangerously low temperatures expected overnight, Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City have partnered to open the Central City Recreation Center for unsheltered residents. While there have been beds available in the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness system recently, staffing shortages continue to make it impossible or unsafe for non-profit shelter providers to create additional capacity at identified winter overflow shelters.
The Central City Recreation Center facility, located at 615 South 300 East in Salt Lake City, opened at 9 p.m. tonight and will be opened based upon need while the dangerously cold weather persists. Community volunteers including doctors and specialists are at the center of this effort, assisting with putting this plan into action. Additionally, staff and other homeless advocates are out on the streets working to identify and move people inside.
“I want to thank and acknowledge not just the efforts of city and county staff but also the many volunteers who moved quickly to establish this additional site today,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson.
“I’m grateful for Mayor Wilson’s eagerness to partner to keep as many of our unsheltered neighbors as safe as possible during this cold weather,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “We will continue to work collaboratively across the board to find solutions for those most in need in our community.”
