SALT LAKE CITY — A new temporary micro shelter community in Salt Lake City is open to those needing a roof over their head. It’s a first-of-its-kind housing solution in Utah.
People living in these micro shelters get to have their own, individual space.
“They’re able to have something they can call their own,” explained Cody Sanders, Switchpoint Salt Lake Regional Director. Switchpoint is the service provider at the 300 S 600 W site in downtown Salt Lake City.
The state of Utah and Salt Lake City announced in September to develop the previously empty property into a temporary shelter.
It is the only non-congregate shelter in the state and has been open for about a week.
“It reduces anxiety, it reduces stress, it allows them to focus on getting settled in, feeling safe and being able to go, do what they need to do, to get into successful housing,” added Sanders.
The pods from a company called Foldum have a door that can be locked, a bed, power outlets, and heating and cooling systems. This new approach intends to give people the chance to focus on finding permanent housing, without worrying about their belongings.
“It’s been a lot of gratitude,” said Sanders. “We’ve had a lot of clients happy that they’re able to get out of the elements, get out of the snow, get out of the cold and just have a place to lay their head at night.”
The space can hold about 50 people, and they have about 20-25 occupants right now who are either single men or couples. There is also an area for pets, and they have case managers on-site to help people get on their feet.
“They don’t have to walk, they don’t have to take any public transportation, they can just walk across from their pods, see our case management team, and it makes it a lot more convenient,” added Sanders. “It also lets us know what they’re struggling with where they sleep, so that we can help address issues that other resources may not know about.”
Community partners and other resource centers help refer people to the shelter. Safety is a key element, so Switchpoint also handles security.
“We have our own in-house security that we’ve hired. We check bags, we have metal detector wands – what we’re looking for is any weapons, drugs, anything that could be potentially dangerous and we make sure that the clients are not bringing that in to their rooms, so that its safe for them, staff and other clients,” said Sanders.
This pilot micro shelter community stays up until April 30 and then the state has 30 days to move these pods to a new location. The goal is to use what they learn from this pilot program and implement that for future projects.
