By Lindsay Dickson
When Utah extends its welcome to the world tomorrow, some locals fear they may be left out in the cold.
With the Olympics on the horizon, Salt Lake City is more than just home to the Winter Games – it is also home to a growing homeless population.
Phillip Arena, director of development for the Salt Lake Mission, said he has witnessed a dramatic increase in demand for the mission”s services.
“The number of prepared meals provided by the Salt Lake Mission has tripled to 132,000 in the last year,” Arena said.
The flood of homeless has left the mission in great need of food and gently used winter clothes, he said.
“With an event of this magnitude you are going to get people showing up from everywhere,” he said.
People have come from all over the country thinking they will be able to find work here with the Olympics, Arena said.
However, increased security measures involved with the Games have made this nearly impossible.
Bill Tibbitts, project coordinator at Crossroads Urban Center, said another factor in the increasing homeless population is the low rent hotels serving up eviction notices to many of their guests.
“These low rent hotels are often home to people who pay a weekly rate to live there and earn so little money that they can”t move out” Tibbitts said.
Motel owners are looking to get Olympic rates for their rooms, said Glen Bailey, director of Crossroads. These owners have drastically inflated prices and ousted current residents for the extra cash.
“One man who had been staying in the Utah Hostel for 12 dollars a night was notified that beginning Feb. 1 the cost would rise to 200 dollars a night through the entire Olympics,” Tibbitts said.
Unfortunately, little can be done for those evicted from their homes, Bailey said. Despite the fact that guests have been living there for months, hotels managers escape the legal codes required of apartment landlords.
“There are few things we can do for them aside from referring them to a homeless shelter and offering them food from our pantry,” Tibbitts said.
Some additional preparations have been made to accommodate the increasing number of homeless in Salt Lake, Bailey said.
“An overflow shelter has been prepared in Midvale as well as the Serta site in Salt Lake, named for the Serta Mattress Factory it was created from,” he said.
Bailey said efforts have been made by Mayor Rocky Anderson and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee to prevent mistreatment of the homeless during the Games.
“They will be providing a guide to homeless services and do not plan on doing homeless sweeps,” he said.
Salt Lake City Public Information Officer Fred Lewis said the department is committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect.
“We are encouraging everyone in the department to maintain policy and be helpful to anyone who is in need of help during the Olympics,” Lewis said.
