SALT LAKE CITY — People living on Salt Lake City’s streets estimate that around 50 people have died due to the cold this winter.
“I’ve had a lot of my friends die out here because they couldn’t get into shelters," said AJ Lonewolf.
Lonewolf said he stole something recently, breaking the law just so he could get sent to jail and have a roof over his head.
“A lot of people do that because there's not sufficient funds to help people out," he said.
In an 8 to 2 vote Friday, the Utah House Business and Labor Committee passed Rep. Steve Eliason’s "Homeless Services Amendments" bill, which would increase funding for winter overflow and mandate counties to have shelters.
READ: Here's what you're getting in the Utah legislature's $28 billion budget
“We've done much better this winter than past winters," he said. "But there have been nights when shelters are full, and individuals are turned away."
If the bill gets passed in the full House and Senate voting, the bill would require Code Blue to be issued when temperatures dip below 15 degrees, meaning no person can be denied shelter.
While many of Utah’s unsheltered support the bill, Barbara Elmer doesn't think it does enough.She believes adding more shelters isn't the solution.
“The women are getting raped in the shelters," said Elmer. "The women are getting assaulted in the shelters, and the staff stands by and does nothing.”
Many unsheltered don’t want to be forced into shelters, she said.
“I've been abated 49 times," said Elmer. "My 48th time, the city, during an abatement, took my home, which was an RV, and my 8-year-old daughter.”
She says the solution is to give people a place where they can legally camp.
“Instead of saying, 'No camping,' why not put up a place, sanction our camping, where we can get to help, help can get to us? Everybody will know where we are. We're safe. We're together. We're healthy. We can support each other," she said.
