The Utah solution

Utah recently proved once again that the simplest solution is often the best by coming up with a genius plan to solve their homelessness issue — providing houses for homeless people.

They crunched the numbers and found the cost of medical bills and arrests for homeless people is actually  $5,670 more than simply housing them.
Most states have been blaming and punishing people for their homelessness.
Utah has instituted a plan that will actually solve the problem, instead of shifting blame.

Most cities set restrictions on homeless individuals, such as where they can be and for how long.

Some states have even restricted other people from feeding homeless people, likening them to pigeons and other pests.

These policies have so far been ineffective.

It turns out that even when you arrest these people, wake them up or tell them to move, they remain homeless.

You haven’t really changed anything.

People still rely on these policies because of the stigma that homeless people are on the street because they choose to be, because they are lazy drug addicts that refuse to help themselves.

What should be obvious is that no one would actively choose to live on the street.  Once there, however, one might be more concerned with exposure, not getting arrested and keeping themselves and their belongings safe — instead of making sure they aren’t an eyesore to the more fortunate.

Significant portions of homeless people are afflicted with mental or physical disabilities that make it hard for them to find and keep work.

Others are blindsided by extreme circumstances, and find that once they are on the streets, it becomes significantly harder to get back on their feet.

The prejudice and victim blaming directed at homeless people contribute to this.
It’s true that addiction is another contributor to
homelessness.

Instead of blaming those who have succumbed to this, Utah’s policy addresses this problem as well.

Utah’s new policy gives the homeless a safe place to live as well as providing each person a social worker focused on helping them become
self-sufficient.

Utah’s government has created one of the first humane and effective solutions to a problem that most U.S. cities deal with, including
Bloomington.

Bloomington has a homeless population noticeable to anyone glancing down Kirkwood Avenue, and no one really seems to be doing anything that helps.

Last December, 24-year-old Ian Stark froze to death in Bloomington.
This tragedy incited many Bloomington natives to march on the mayor’s office, as well as a few less-legal displays of unrest .

If Bloomington can adopt the same progressive and cost effective approach as Utah, then everybody wins.

Downtown areas look cleaner, and the homeless get to change the only truly offensive thing about them — the suffix of their title.

­— jordile@indiana.edu
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Jordan Riley on Twitter
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