Legislative Update #1

Hello, PPC members! I wanted to introduce myself and talk about exciting updates with the Legislative Session. My name is Caroline deLannoy. I am the Legislative intern for the 2020 session. I am studying political science and on a pre-law track at the University of Utah. When I'm not studying or working I love to run, dance, watch basketball and eat! This internship has been such an exciting opportunity for me. I've been able to meet many incredible legislators, professionals, and passionate advocates. I was unsure of how I wanted to present myself and my voice in this new job. The people who work with the Utah Legislature and the PPC are the fiercest fighters for being one’s true authentic self. They are courageous in their decision-making, advocacy, and fight to help people who are on the margins of society. I have fallen into an extraordinary pocket of learning that is priceless to my University education as well as my journey in becoming a good human.

These values are evident in the legislation that we are following. This was a particularly exciting week because we had three bills go to committee. The week started with the introduction of S.B. 39. The bill, sponsored by Senator Anderegg, will put $15 million towards the construction of affordable housing, $15 million towards rental assistance, and $5 million towards continued affordable housing mechanisms. The bill is bridging the gap between homeless services and at-risk families. It passed committee 2-1.

The next bill to go into committee meetings was H.B. 83. The bill sponsored by Rep. Stoddard introduced a new system of expunging records. The legislation is advocating for the protection of domestic violence victims. This new approach ensures that they are notified when their abusers request the expungement of their records. This bill passed the committee unanimously with a favorable recommendation!

Our last bill in committee was SB 89 The bill is sponsored by Senator Thatcher and seeks to establish a fund for University Neuropsychiatric Institute that will provide affordable mental health care for people who have slipped between the cracks. Senator Thatcher said that he believes this is the most important bill he will sponsor the whole session because it will provide extensive help to Utahns who are in dire need of mental health care. This bill passed unanimously in the committee with a very favorable recommendation!

We are so happy to see that the issues of mental health, domestic violence, and affordable housing are a priority to our legislators. I got an amazing opportunity this past week to connect with Representative Suzanne Harrison. I wrote a research paper on the effectiveness of electronic prescriptions of controlled substances to decrease fraudulent activity and "doctor shopping" for her. Rep. Harrison's bill H.B. 177 passed unanimously in committee! This moment was so special to me. Rep. Harrison and the PPC were able to work together to pass a bill that will help so many struggling people.

The work that we are doing is incredibly meaningful to all Utahns, but more specifically, the underserved populations. Every week in the legislature provides a new time to make important decisions. As I continue to work with these incredible people, I am confident that we are in good hands. This is the first weekly update of many to come. There will be a new one each week so you can be up to date with the bills the PPC is supporting.

I am so excited to have to opportunity to write these weekly updates! I am also going to be doing live updates on the @pioneerparkco Instagram if you’d like to stay even more current. If there are any questions about the legislative session, specific bills, or the PPC that you’d like me to cover specifically please leave a comment here or email us at info@pioneerpark.co

Who is Dr. Robert Marbut?

Dr. Marbut was recently appointed and confirmed unanimously as the Executive Director for the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. This means that he manages a council of representatives from every federal agency that is related to homelessness in any way.

He is a strong advocate for accountability in government and nonprofit programs, and has worked for many years to help people have the resources they need to exit homelessness. Dr. Marbut's main focus has been ending (not perpetuating) homelessness and breaking the vicious cycle which some systems enable.

His critics will point out that he has not supported popular "Housing First" initiatives. He believes that housing first doesn't work when it leaves out the all-important factor of case managers working with the individuals who transition out of homelessness.

He is a strong proponent of Utah values such as cooperation and self-reliance, and has done a lot of work in Salt Lake to help improve our homeless system.

Dr. Marbut has an impressive academic background, including a PhD in Government from the University of Texas with minors in American politics, international relations, and political behavior. He also has a Masters of Art in Government and Criminal Justice, with bachelor degrees in economics, political science, and psychology from Claremont.

We are grateful to have someone who knows our situation in Salt Lake City personally in such an important position of influence in the federal government. We have long said that we hope our state can be a shining example of how to address homelessness, and we hope that we can see that come to fruition with Dr. Marbut leading the national homelessness initiative.

Board Member Spotlight: Meet David Durocher

Here at the Pioneer Park Coalition, we’re introducing our amazing board members. This month, we’re putting the spotlight on David Durocher. He oversees the operations at The Other Side Academy, a facility that helps those who have suffered from long-term drug addiction, have a lengthy criminal history or have experienced chronic homelessness. The Other Side Academy is a two-year residential Life Skills Academy, one that works with both men and women.

David has been with The Other Side Academy for more than 3 years. Located at 667 East and 100 South, the facility is a place where those who have lost themselves can find hope. According to David, the best part of his job is giving hope and inspiration to people who have been as broken as he once was. He believes that anyone can reinvent themselves as long as they’re willing to put in the work to do so. Sometimes, people who have struggled just need another person to believe in them. Often, David is that person.

David’s company rehabilitates habitual offenders, those who have abused drugs or committed crimes for years. Along with rehabilitating people, The Other Side Academy does it with no cost to the community since the organization is fully funded through its training school businesses. The academy also saves the community millions of dollars annually because instead of incarcerating those who are habitual offenders, the academy is turning them into citizens who contribute positively to society. According to David, there are about 100 students at his school.

The Other Side Academy is located close to the Pioneer Park/Rio Grande area. In fact, they are almost neighbors. In addition to being in proximity to each other, the two organizations are connected by the fact that The Other Side Academy’s students are usually the people who are causing problems for the Pioneer Park Coalition. They are basically partners because their respective missions align.

One struggle that David is currently facing is that The Other Side Academy isn’t considered a “qualified service provider” by those who are directing people who need the kind of rehab that the facility offers. David pointed out that his company is highly effective at resolving the underlying issues, the ones that typically cause people to turn to drugs, become homeless or engage in criminal activity. When the cause of a problem is resolved, people are less likely to fall back into a destructive lifestyle pattern.

David does feel that the Pioneer Park and Rio Grande communities are on the right path when it comes to dealing with the area’s problems. He’d like for people to have the choice to apply for his program instead of being sent to jail and hopes that more will be given the option.

When asked why he does what he does, he said, “I do what I do because I once was part of the population that I now serve. It is a labor of love for me and a way for me to balance the scales for the wreckage of my past.” David is a valuable member of our board, and we’re glad that he’s a part of our organization.

Are Federal Reports on Homelessness Illustrating a Clear Picture?

By Michelle Miller | December 18, 2018

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is reporting an uptick in homelessness three years in a row.

Does this mean there are more people experiencing homelessness? It’s hard to say, given the current metrics used to count “unsheltered” homelessness.

Unsheltered individuals are those which are sleeping in their cars or on the streets—not in a shelter. It does not take into account individuals and families staying in motels, couch surfing, or in other unstably housed situations. This means a potential gap of thousands of individuals not being accounted for.

The Point in Time count is currently the only metric used to gain a better understanding of how many people are experiencing homelessness in the United States.

The system is far from perfect.

Over the course of three nights every January, service providers and volunteers hit the streets to do a head count of unsheltered individuals. It’s not hard to imagine the estimated 194,000 unsheltered individuals in 2017 is on the low-end. There is a big push to get more affordable housing online. Is it needed? Absolutely. Is it the cure to homelessness? Absolutely not. Affordable housing, while necessary, is only one piece of the puzzle.  

Families and individuals who have been experiencing homeless for extended periods need help to become more self-sufficient by teaching job skills, social skills, and life skills so they can end the cycle of poverty and homelessness once and for all. Basic skills housed individuals take for granted such as cooking, cleaning, and budgeting.

You can give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The time has come to grab our poles and head toward the water.

https://www.routefifty.com/health-human-services/2018/12/homelessness-assessment-one-night-count-hud-2018/153624/

Announcing the Departure of David Garbett as Executive Director

Recently, David Garbett, our Executive Director, announced that he will be pursuing other opportunities. We appreciate David’s work with the Pioneer Park Coalition. His vision and desire to build bridges has made invaluable contributions in moving our work forward. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Crime and Operation Rio Grande—Part III

By Michelle Miller

Pioneer Park Coalition is dedicated to keeping an eye on crime data for Salt Lake City in the year following Operation Rio Grande. We wrote two previous blogs about crime at Operation Rio Grande’s beginning. I am now revisiting crime stats after the one-year mark. The news remains similar: crime is low city-wide post-Operation Rio Grande, rates continue to be much lower in the Pioneer Park/Rio Grande area, but there are some neighborhoods that need attention (Central City, Poplar Grove, and Glendale).

In our previous blogs we highlighted Salt Lake City’s crime rates from 2013 through 2017 in select neighborhoods. We focused on serious crimes (aggravated assault, burglary, rape/sexual assault, homicide, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and robbery) as well as non-serious crimes (curfew/loitering, disorderly conduct, drug abuse, stolen property, vandalism, and drunkenness). We focused solely on Salt Lake City because Salt Lake City Police Department has the most transparent and accessible crime data for public access. If we could get the other cities data we would look at it too. The following graphic is a look at crime rates up to December 2017:

Statistics for serious and non-serious crimes in the specified locations between January 2013 and December 2017.

Now, let’s take a look to see what’s been happening between October 2013 and September 2018:

We kept the majority of neighborhoods the same and included the Poplar Grove and Glendale neighborhoods. We chose these neighborhoods based on where we have heard Operation Rio Grande has dispersed crime. The statistics show a gemerally positive story, especially in the downtown area. As you can see there was a spike in August 2018 which can probably be attributed to hotter weather and longer days. Weather patterns create a natural ebb and flow to crime rates as can be observed in the data. 

But this story is not entirely positive at the neighborhood level. Some specific areas have failed to see drops in crime or may have even experienced increases. To better illuminate what’s happening in surrounding areas, here is the same graph excluding downtown:

If you feel your neighborhood has been excluded, we apologize. We are trying to focus on the neighborhoods facing the most problems. To see what’s happening in your neighborhood, we encourage you to go to the Salt Lake City Police Department website and play around with it. As this graph shows, there are some neighborhoods that have not moved in the right direction. In particular, Salt Lake City should be giving more attention to the Central City, Poplar Grove, and Glendale neighborhoods.

An overview of all neighborhoods for all crimes paints a continued positive picture. Since the start of Operation Rio Grande, crime has decreased to near historic lows in the last five years across Salt Lake City:

Something worth mentioning—this data is inclusive of everyone committing crimes in Salt Lake City and is not exclusive to the homeless population. Being homeless is not a crime. The mere sight of people experiencing homelessness does not necessarily mean a crime has been or will be committed. This crime data does not mean that there was not some dispersion of people experiencing homelessness into surrounding neighborhoods since Operation Rio Grande. If that is true, not all people experiencing homelessness are committing crimes and not all people who commit crimes are homeless.

In summary, Operation Rio Grande continues to be a huge net positive on crime rates in the Pioneer Park/Rio Grande neighborhood and Salt Lake City, as a whole. Central City, Poplar Grove, and Glendale, however, need more attention.

Operation Rio Grande - One Year Later

More in the News:

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/08/13/gehrke-year-here-are-some/

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/09/30/commentary-lets-support/

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900031554/guest-opinion-operation-rio-grande-is-making-a-difference.html