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Information Effect
The social Issue of homelessness is more or less known to everyone. Every person has

come in contact with and individual that is experiencing homelessness. What is known about

them [the homeless]? That they dont have a home to go to and meals that they can enjoy. Is this

all that is we may assume of them, while many may have had contact with an individual that is

homeless no one will be able to say for sure who those people are and why they are in a situation

where they cannot fully provide for themselves. I seek to inform to the best of my ability on the

ongoing struggles of the homeless population and eventually provide a glimpse into what has

been ongoing in the Rio Grande District.

Who Is Impacted?

According to the Comprehensive Report on Homelessness for the state of Utah (2016)

65% are homeless individuals while the remaining 35% are families (Hartvigsen et. al 6 ). To put

that into perspective 979 of the 1810 individuals are part of a family that is homeless. A

staggering number of this population is chronically homeless who have "been continuously

homeless for a year" out of all the individuals that were counted about 11.8% or 213 are

considered to be chronically homeless. This number while small is something to worry about

sense those that are chronically homeless might find it extremely hard to eventually be in a better

state than what their present looks like.

In Utah we are able to find about 298 families that are homeless, and while it is a

devastating fact, the reality of is that the children of those families fall behind when it comes to

mental, social, and educational aspects. What may be considered worse is the number of

homeless youth that find themselves without a family and are ultimately out there fending for

themselves and not being able to help themselves simply because of their age.
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By this same report it has been stated that 150

youth (15-24yrs old) are homeless with no

family. This to many might be a fearful

number to read simply because of what it

might mean for these youth. Where will they

go if they anage to remove themselves from the cycle of homelessness? When and if they will

exit a cycle that could potentially define what life might look like for them.

What is also of concern as well is

the number of homeless veterans that have

been documented to reside in Utah. At the

end of 2016 it was reported by

Comprehensive Report on Homelessness (2016) that 335 individuals were homeless veterans.

That is an insane number considering the rest of the homeless population. These veterans almost

constitute 20% of the overall homeless population here in Utah. While in this report numbers are

representative of the people who are impacted by homelessness a deeper question can be asked

why are they impacted? Or what has made it so that these people find themselves in a stagnant

state with no possible outlook on their future.

What is the cause of Homelessness?

These homeless individuals are impacted by a multiplicity of causes ranging from

substances abuse, mental health, extended periods of homelessness and domestic violence

(Hartvigsen et al 7). Families often find themselves in this state because of a "break-up" where

family ties are severed (Hartvigsen et. al 8). This same break up of family ties, can lead us to

assume to be a cause of why there are many homeless youth out there without a home or family,
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the youth's state could be the result of them running away from an unwelcoming home

environment. Along the line of running away from home is those that run away from domestic

violence, from 2015- 2016 there was a 18.2% decline in domestic violence victims who have

been homeless (Hartvigsen et.al 12). We can speculate that a life on the street for those that

escaped domestic violence could be somewhat better than having to face their tormentor on a

daily basis and being assaulted either verbally/ physically or a combination thereof.

Homeless veterans is another population that one might think that because they are

veterans they are able to access a wide variety of resources that are willing to help them, while

that is true for some, it is not true for all. A study conducted by the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake

City Healthcare Systems found that those who were discharged on the basis of mis-conduct were

"five times more likely to become homeless" compared to their counterparts.

Now that we have a better idea of who is impacted and why they are impacted we will

turn to the organizations that are aiming to help or remove these individuals from the Rio Grande

District

Organizations that, help?

Critics of the Rio Grande operation have stated that the "worst of the worst" (of the

homeless population) that were promised to be jailed, only about 5 out of the 222 bookings were

the so called, worst. The National Center on Homelessness and Poverty stated that for the cost

that the state spent circling "the shelter area for days" those same people that charges were

brought against could have obtained housing. Among all these arrests the ACLU of Utah is

worried that the "sixth amendment rights to counsel" for all those that were arrested have been

infringed upon (ACLU of Utah Statement on Operation Rio Grande). In the same statement of
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the ACLU they have mentioned that Salt Lake county requested a $368,000 grant to be able to

hire defense attorneys for all those that were arrested in the 3 day "clean up" of Rio Grande.

On the other hand, supporters for the operation were awaiting information relating to the

operation that was undertaken in Rio Grande. During the operation 491 arrests were made,

lawmakers were "anxious for updates" because of all the state resources funding this operation

(Winslow). The Pioneer Park Coalition was also glad to hear the results and some residents in

the area mentioned that they felt safer. A local business owner in the area stated that all they

want is the "same level of safety and decency" comparable to what is seen in the rest of the state.

As a result of the staggering figures it can be said that the issue of homelessness extends

beyond the Rio Grande district and more viable option for help are needed. Now it is up to the

individual citizen to decide for themselves where they stand on an issue that might affect the

community as a whole.