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Braxton Farley
Seminar A
January 4th, 2017
Mrs. Paystrup

Mayor Biskupskis decision on addressing the homeless

Salt Lake City Mayor Biskupski has recently made the decision to build four 150 bed
homeless shelters in the locations of 653 E. Simpson Ave. (2300 South), 275 W. High Ave. (1400
South), 131 E. 700 South, and 648 W. 100 South. In this paper, I will go over these plans in
detail and I will explain why these plans are wrong and how we could fix them.
On December 13th, 2016, Salt Lake City mayor Jackie Biskupski held a press conference
and announced four locations for homeless shelters. Many people had some concerns with these
different public service buildings, as their locations interfere with the public opinions on
homeless individuals. These locations are marked as mixed zoned areas, meaning they house
both business, residential, and recreational buildings. Multiple families and business owners are
concerned that these new shelters might hurt the image and well being of the area.This Not In
My Backyard(NIMBY) mentality might be rude and unkind, but opinions are formed based on
truth, albeit small amounts. In 2016, about three hundred eighty-five thousand of Americas one
point seven million homeless individuals have some sort of mental illness. These range from
schizophrenia to depressive disorders. Only a small portion of these people will be helped. This
means that quite a few of Americas homeless people are very likely to have some sort of disease
that could hurt them or others around them. Drugs and alcohol are also very serious problem in

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the homeless epidemic. These people turn towards drugs and alcohol to escape from their current
situation or to self medicate their mental illness. It is these problems that lead to an undesirable
group to be around kids, business, and schools. However, these people need help somehow. This
is where the discussion of mayor Biskupskis plan comes in.
The few homeless shelters in downtown Salt Lake is overflowing with people in need.
This is causing quite a few businesses to either close or move to new locations. The Rio Grande
area is perhaps the worst area, as businesses have seen a decline by at least 25%. The mayor of
Salt Lake plans on building four new shelters to spread out these people. This way, instead of
having one area having all of the homeless, you have four that share the burden. The problem
with this that you still have businesses and families around these places that have the NIMBY
attitude about it. So what would the solution be? The answer is to not put it in anyone's backyard.
Simply find a place that is far enough away from major cities to keep most the homeless there,
but also close enough to be easy to transport the homeless there.
The homeless problem in the United States cant be ignored. There must be a solution if
Utah is to keep an upstanding reputation and avoid federal entanglements. The problem is that
with all of these individuals without abodes, there are bound to be a few unsavory people. If all
of those people are spread out, you keep problems all over. However, if there is one large
building that provides the care and education to every homeless person, you can keep the few
troublemakers in one place under soft surveillance. This building could be state funded with the
money used to buy the zoning areas and build the four new shelters. It could help the sick and
mentally ill with diverse medical care ranging from doctors to psychiatrists. Some of the
different schooling could include how to hold a successful job, economics, paying different bills,
Alcoholics Anonymous, drug rehab, and life coaching. This coach would help those in need by

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keeping track of where they come from, where they want to go, and what their goals are in life. If
a person truly wants the help of the shelter, he or she will follow the rules and help keep the
peaceful atmosphere. This shelter will be optional, providing the tools and services needed for
these poor souls to get back on their feet. What is to be done about all of those who don't want
help of the shelter? The answer is simple. If a person is unwilling to receive help, shelter, and
food, he or she might be dishonest about not owning a home, being mentally ill, or being
independent. These people hurt the truly unhoused, and unemployed, and should face some sort
of justice for falsely taking advantage of the hard working members of society.
In conclusion, I think that it is much easier if we have one large building out of the way
that can care for all of Utahs homeless. Using the right coaching and help, Utah will no longer
have a homeless problem. It will cost a lot of money, but this problem has to be dealt with, and
the same money would be needed to run four separate shelters. Hopefully this will be taken into
consideration.

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Works Cited

"Homelessness and Substance Abuse." Alcohol Rehab. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
<http://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/homelessness-and-substance-abuse/>.
"MADNESS IN THE STREETS: MENTAL ILLNESS, HOMELESSNESS AND CRIMINAL
BEHAVIOR." Best MSW Programs. N.p., 2016. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.
http://www.bestmswprograms.com/mental-illness-homelessness-criminal-behavior/
Http://fox13now.com/facebook/. "Some business owners leaving The Gateway cite issues with homeless
population." Fox13now.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.
http://fox13now.com/2016/11/04/some-business-owners-leaving-the-gateway-cite-issues-withhomeless-population/