SALT LAKE CITY — David Ibarra has lived and owned a business in Salt Lake City for 25 years. He once ran for mayor and has supported opponents running against Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
“Every morning, I've got on video, people shooting up heroin every morning, people walking at nighttime, nine o'clock, 10 o'clock, screaming, yelling, profanity, hurt, and we're not sending help,” he said. “It's not safe to live in this city anymore.”
Ibarra is one of nine plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the city, arguing officials have created a nuisance by not enforcing anti-camping laws. The new plan introduced by Mendenhall on Thursday is certainly not enough, but it’s a start, he said.
“I absolutely applaud the mayor for reacting,” said Ibarra. “I just wonder, why did you have to be told?”
One of the biggest challenges Mendenhall highlights in her plan is the judicial system.
“We're arresting people and they're on the street the same day or the very next day,” said Lynn Ames, chair of Solutions Utah. “The plan talks about them committing a lot of petty crimes, but I think we're also seeing that there's some very significant felony level crimes being committed, and they're still being put out on the streets right away.”
Ames believes a campus approach like the one implemented at Other Side Village is a solution that could work.
“We need to get the people that are experiencing the drugs into a place where they can get away from the drugs and reduce the demand,” he added. “The shelters heretofore have kind of had mixed reviews, right? There's still a lot of drug activity.”
Ibarra said with a little funding and a lot of empathy, Salt Lake City can be a model for cities around the country.
“It is a nuisance," he said, "but it's a person, and the business owners deserve more, the residents deserve more, the children deserve to have their parks back, and the person in trouble deserves a place to go and resources, to get help.”
