Council Provided Information - 11/22/2022 I F
November 11, 2022 Aj
Mayor Erin Mendenhall and City Council members
Salt Lake City Government
451 S. State Street, Room 306
P. O. Box 145474
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
Dear Honorable Mayor Erin Mendenhall and City Council,
Volunteers of America, Utah's is requesting authorization to temporarily increase our emergency
shelter bed capacity at our Utah's Youth Resource Center located at 888 South 400 West in Salt
Lake City during these winter months. We currently operate a drop-in center during the daytime
and have 30 emergency shelter beds for youth (ages 15 — 22) who are experiencing
homelessness at night. Unfortunately, we turn away on average about 5 to 6 clients, with some
nights seeing 10 to 15 turn-aways. We hope to increase our bed capacity by 20 if it meets the
fire code parameters.
Volunteers of America, Utah's Youth Resource Center, is seeing firsthand how freezing
temperatures and winter storms impact vulnerable and unsheltered youth in our community.
Often, youth who are 18 and older will decide not to go to an adult homeless shelter because of
safety concerns and will remain on the street if they cannot get into the youth shelter; this
increases the risk of exposure to inclement weather or other physical threats. Therefore, we are
writing to request additional beds for youth during the coming winter months.
Volunteers of America, Utah, remains appreciative of the contributions, funding, and support
Salt Lake City has made to address youth homelessness as well as winter overflow for
unsheltered communities. We deeply appreciate your consideration of this matter and look
forward to hearing from you. Please let us know your thoughts, and if you have any questions,
we would be happy to answer. Thank you for your partnership.
Sincerely,
Kathy Bray, President & CEO
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