Homelessness is an issue worldwide, which includes our local community. Temperatures have been dropping fast, causing the homeless to swarm to get a spot in homeless shelters. This has led to these shelters being filled up fast. When interviewing a 23-year-old about his thoughts on the homelessness issue, he stated that quote: “I think the abuse in these shelters is awful, and there should be more homeless shelters. Not even just in Utah, a lot of the people who are overflowing here are here due to lack of shelters where they’re from,” When asked what steps he believes should be taken he states, “We need to create more shelters, or at least expand the space in current shelters. It would be awful to limit the use for certain people, however, more deserving people, like children and parents, should have priority.”

Abuse in homeless shelters has been happening for years, and not much light has been shining on that. Many people staying in these shelters don’t trust the staff, as they feel the staff don’t do anything to help them feel safe. People are constantly getting harassed by other homeless people and can’t do anything about it unless they’re willing to attempt to find a different shelter. A big complaint from people is the doorless overflow bathrooms with cameras pointing at the toilets and showers. “The crisis was predicted two or three years ago, I believe, when they announced the new shelters being built to replace the one closing,” says 37-year-old Marie Baldwin, “They knew there weren’t enough beds, yet here we are.” Baldwin goes on to say how she believes anything being done currently is just a bandaid considering how the housing market is going up.

Salt Lake has 400+ homeless people, and not enough shelters to house that many. People believe that churches should allow the homeless to stay in them throughout the week. With churches around almost every corner, it would significantly help the homeless population.