Utah elected officials opposition to even the smallest steps to protect working people could not be more clear.  For years members of FACE Hunger and Homelessness have shown up to support bills to raise the minimum wage  in our state only to watch those bills lose in lop sided and dispiriting ways.  

​Fortunately, some working people in our state have begun to organize themselves to demand better wages and working conditions.  Last week the workers at a Starbucks in Bountiful became the third in Utah to state their intention of forming union under the banner of Starbucks Workers United.    We have invited representatives from Starbucks Workers United attend our monthly meeting on May 10 at noon at South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society to learn more about how we can support the organizing efforts of service sector workers in our state.  

​However, we are not waiting until that meeting to begin showing our support.  On May 3, 2023, at 10 AM we are encouraging everyone who supports higher wages and better working conditions for service sector workers to stop by the Starbucks located at 421 East 400 South in Salt Lake City, buy a beverage, and tell the workers you support them.  We are calling this event a "Solidarity Sip In."

Here are are a few statements from faith leaders explaining why they will be participating:

• Rev, AJ Bush notes, ""First United Methodist Church is just a couple blocks from one of the Starbucks that has voted to unionize and we want the brave people who work there to know our community supports them."
• "It is especially important to support people working for better wages and working conditions in a state like Utah-- which is one of 19 state where the minimum wage is still stuck at $7.25 per hour," says Rev. David Nichols of Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church.
• "Families are struggling with inflation and rent increases that have grown faster than inflation and so it is important to show up and support low wage workers when they demand better treatment," says Rev. Lora Young of South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society.
• “I like my coffee black and my barista union,"  says Rev. Dr. Curtis Price of First Baptist Church of Salt Lake City.

This month we renamed one of our oldest projects, the Coalition of Religious Communities, to the Faith and Advocacy Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness-- FACE Hunger and Homelessness,  Our hope is that this new name will simultaneously be more clear about the purpose of the coalition and more welcoming to new people who are unfamiliar with the history of the coalitions.

The first monthly meeting for the coalition with this new name took place on April 12, 2023, at Mount Tabor Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City.   The meeting was very open and constructive and when it was over we decided to focus on three things:

• Drawing attention to the benefits of new housing that is being built to reduce homelessness.  Last year the Utah Legislature dedicated $55 million to the production of housing that will prevent homelessness and help move people out of homelessness.  This year legislators dedicated another $50 million to this purpose and some of the new housing units are close to becoming available.  This will move hundreds of people off the streets and out of shelters.  This spring and summer we will educate ourselves about the benefits of this new housing by organizing tours.  Then we will educate our congregations and other contacts by producing simple videos and other easy-to-share materials.
• Encouraging local housing authorities and nonprofit developers to produce housing specifically designed to meet the needs of families with children coming out of homelessness.  For years our coalition has had a focus on promoting solutions to homelessness for families with children.  The Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness has determined Salt Lake County alone needs 150 units of supportive housing for families with children headed by parents with disabling conditions. Families with children need different supports than childless adults who are experiencing chronic homelessness and so it is imperative this housing is built soon.  
• Asking state officials and Utah's Medicaid managed care providers to work to enroll people in SNAP and other programs they are eligible for when they review their Medicaid eligibility.  Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have very similar eligibility rules but there are over 100,000 more households in Utah participating in Medicaid than in SNAP.  The maximum SNAP benefit in 2023 for a family of three is $740 per month and so it can make a huge difference when eligible families participate in this program.  During the pandemic households were not required to prove continued eligibility and so each month this year thousands people will be completing their first Medicaid review ever.  This is a great time to educate them about how SNAP can help provide themselves and their children with nutritious food in the face of inflation and high rents.

If you are interested in getting involved with one of these issues please sign up for our email list and come to our next meeting on ​May 10, 2023, at noon, at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 6876 S Highland Drive, Cottonwood Heights.

About 60 percent of the people who received help from a homeless service provider during the month of February, 2023, were members of families with children, youth or aged 55 or older.   Here are a few other facts about the month of February from Utah's Homelessness dashboard:

• 8,384 people who received some kind of help from a homeless service provider in Utah,  
• 3,507 people spent at least one night in a homeless shelter.  
• 33.4 percent of the people who received some form of help from a homeless service provider in Utah were members of a family with children.  
• 23.1 percent of people who received some type of help from a homeless service provider in Utah were aged 55 or older.
• ​465 children spent a night in a shelter and another 1,270 children received some other kind of help from a homeless service provider in Utah
• 755 people aged 55 or older spent a night in a shelter.
• 487 people aged 18-24 received some kind of help from a homeless service provider in Utah.

The Faith and Advocacy Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, FACE Hunger and Homelessness, brings people together to learn about the causes of hunger and homelessness and to support policies that would reduce those forms of unnecessary suffering. ​  If you are interested in getting involved FACE Hunger and Homelessness send an email to Bill Tibbitts and ask for more information, bill@crossroadsurbancenter.org 

Introduction and Summary
 
This report on child homelessness is being produced in a year when lower income households are being left behind.  The area median income for Salt Lake County increased by $10,500 in 2022[i], from $91,700 to $102,200.  In Utah County the area median income increased by $12,300, from $83,700 to $96,000.  This meant that many families in Utah received increased income last year which helped them deal with inflation induced increases to the cost of living. Unfortunately, not everyone received these wage increases.  A single parent with disabilities would have received $10,092 in total SSI benefits last year.  Essentially, low-income families are competing to rent apartments with people who received a raise last year that is bigger than their entire annual income.
 
Given this widening gap between families at the bottom of the income scale and everyone else, it is not surprising that homelessness for families with children in Utah increased by 30 percent in 2022.  65 percent of these families had never experienced homelessness before. Unfortunately, last year’s surge in family homelessness led to some families with children being turned away from shelter because there was not room everyone that needed help.
 
This report contains facts about Utah’s growing crisis of family homelessness and findings from research about the impact of homelessness on the development and wellbeing of children.  Specific recommendations we encourage state and local leaders to pursue include:

• Increasing funding to produce deeply affordable housing for families with children and to provide rental assistance to help families avoid homelessness.
• Ensuring access to childcare for families coming out of homelessness with young children.
• Setting the goal of moving all families with children out of the shelter system within six months and to produce 200 units of supportive housing for the families that currently have been in shelter for six months or more.
• Increasing funding for programs that help domestic violence survivors move into safe, stable, and accessible housing.
• Strengthen and integrate efforts to reduce family homeless provided by schools and homeless service providers.

 
Crossroads Urban Center produced this report with the hopes of generating a larger conversation.  We encourage all concerned Utahns to be part of that conversation.

Read the full report.