The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 23, 2019) — Today on the program, we are re-airing a forum on the issue of homelessness in Utah.
This August, an eviction crisis looms over the U.S. as 24 million Americans are in danger of losing their housing as enhanced unemployment benefits run out, and eviction moratoriums are set to expire—which means an end to the extra $600 a week added to unemployment payments through the March stimulus package that was meant to help the millions of Americans who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and its economic fallout. Utah has seen an increase in evictions since the state’s moratorium expired in May, and now housing advocates fear a coming spike in eviction cases for the tens of thousands of Utahns still out of work.
Since this forum was recorded, three new ‘homeless resource centers’ have come online in Salt Lake County – as part of a new model of tackling homelessness in our region. The opening of these shelters came in conjunction with the closure of The Road Home shelter in November. However, the new shelters combined have several hundred fewer beds than The Road Home, which itself suffered from overflow problems.
The forum features homeless advocate Pamela Atkinson; North Salt Lake Rep. — and licensed clinical social worker — Sandra Hollins; and Salt Lake City Council Member — and Vice President of Program Operations of Volunteers of America Utah — Andrew Johnston. Moderating the discussion is Rob Wesemann, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Utah.
This forum was recorded on March 20, 2019.
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