The Utah Housing Coalition (UHC), joined by housing and homelessness community partners statewide, is sharing urgent concerns—and practical recommendations—regarding Utah’s Action Plan to Address Homelessness aligned with the “Ending Crime and Disorder” Executive Order. The Utah Homeless Services Board is expected to consider this plan in meetings in October and November.
UHC and partners stand ready to collaborate on solutions that strengthen what’s working and fix what isn’t—so every Utahn has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.
“Our providers share the State’s goal that homelessness be rare, brief, and non-recurring,” said Tara Rollins, Executive Director, Utah Housing Coalition. “But to succeed, the plan must prioritize deeply affordable housing, eviction prevention, and preserve what’s already working across Utah’s communities.”
Key Concerns from Community Partners
- Include Deeply Affordable Housing: Utah needs more units affordable to households at or below 30% AMI to prevent loss of housing as rents outpace incomes.
- Prioritize Eviction Prevention: Modernize eviction policy, expand mediation, and fund prevention and landlord/tenant education to reduce avoidable filings.
- Add Capacity—Don’t Cannibalize It: Ensure the proposed Salt Lake Central Campus is added capacity, not a reallocation from existing shelter/housing lines that already served 5,737 people on the PIT night, with 507 unsheltered due to system limits.
- Preserve Local Leadership: Uphold the statutory roles of Utah’s three Continuums of Care and the Utah Homeless Network; avoid CoC consolidation that would dilute rural voices and slow delivery.
- Fund the Mandates You Create: Publish an annual OHS Mandates & Gaps Report that identifies unfunded requirements and the dollars needed to meet them.
- Pair Health with Housing: Coordinate with HHS/OSAMH to expand early treatment and mobile crisis; any civil commitment must include due-process guardrails.
- Center Affordability System-Wide: With ~68,000 extremely low-income households and 74% severely cost-burdened, scale rental assistance, accelerate production/preservation (including acquisition/rehab), and protect local flexible funds.
Recommended Actions
- Affirm added capacity for the Salt Lake Central Campus; prohibit backfilling from current shelter/housing lines.
- Reject CoC consolidation; formalize CoC and Utah Homeless Network roles in implementation.
- Publish an annual OHS Mandates & Gaps Report with itemized costs for legislative action.
- Execute an HHS/OSAMH–OHS coordination plan prioritizing early treatment; set due-process guardrails for any civil commitment use.
- Increase baseline state appropriations for rental assistance, supportive services, and deeply affordable housing; protect local control and flexible funding.
