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SLC Catholic Diocese urges members to support affordable housing options

Posted at 12:35 PM, Nov 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-04 14:35:35-05

SALT LAKE CITY — The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City sent an email to local Catholics urging them to demand affordable housing in Utah.

“In the Catholic faith, housing is a human right. It is one of the core needs to ensure a life of dignity. Catholics can be part of the solution to homelessness in many ways, but one of the most critical right now is to support state legislative efforts to fund more affordable and supportive housing,” the email message said, in part.

The email urges members of the Catholic faith to email or call their legislators to express support for opening up access to housing for “the most vulnerable.”

In this year’s legislative session, Utah lawmakers stripped $24 million in proposed funding from a bill to incentivize more affordable housing developments in the state. The state did come up with $1 million for vouchers to help formerly homeless people pay rent.

In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development worked with Salt Lake City to offer grants for affordable housing. Applications for those programs were due by November 3.