Many people want to help the homeless but don’t know how other than to give food, clothing, or a few dollars on occasion. Here’s a few tips that can help and all based on personal one-on-one interviews. Some of the information is opinion without support and will be noted with an *
Questions & Answers
Q: What causes homelessness? Is it because of life circumstances outside of their control, bad luck, or poor choices & bad behaviors?
A: Homelessness is caused by all of the above and often several things simultaneously— mental health struggles (which can include lack of medication & proper diagnosis and/or therapy), drug or alcohol addiction, and poor life choices. It can also be caused by circumstances thrust upon them as mentioned earlier.
Q: If homelessness doesn’t affect me or my family directly, then why should I care and get involved?
A: Homelessness impacts the public in ways that most don’t realize resulting in increased taxes to fund homeless programs, hiring more police to deal with the crime, and property values going down. This is not to say ‘they’ as a collective group are causing the problems because many factors are in play that increases crime, drug production/dealing, human trafficking/prostitution, gangs, robbery, and vandalism.
Q: What are their biggest needs besides housing and food? Don’t shelters give them a place to sleep, free meals, and clothing?
A: Yes & No. Shelters only have so much space and resources to offer and usually based on a first-come/first-served basis or a lottery system. If your number isn’t called, then you are sleeping outside unless another shelter has beds that are available.
Q: Will putting them in some form of public or private housing program solve the problem?
A: Yes & No. Merely putting people in a housing unit without necessary life-skills and changed thinking can backfire and gets them exited from their housing and back on to the streets again. I have spoken to people that it happened to.
Q: Why can’t city leaders just force them into a rehab facility where they can get the addiction-recovery skills they need along with wrap-around services?
A: Government leaders can’t “force” anyone to seek change in their lives–that is something that comes from within and not an outside entity unless a court mandates their participation. It would be a breach of their civil rights.
Q: Why doesn’t Salt Lake just build a big facility and put them all there?
A: They are eventually planning on building one:
(see https://www.deseret.com/politics/2025/10/29/utah-governor-says-homeless-campus-is-most-compassionate-approach-not-like-nazi-concentration-camp/ also https://www.ksl.com/article/51383386/homeless-facility-proposal-near-north-salt-lake-sparks-opposition-public-safety-concerns ) There are several pros & cons that need to be considered–*see https://prospluscons.com/pros-and-cons-of-housing-first/
Q: Is drug addiction or mental health the bigger problem?
A: Answering that is like asking the proverbial question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” In the end it doesn’t matter because both are intertwined and reinforcing. Any addiction can create mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, or fear. Because the homeless are often not able to get prescription medication, they turn to their cheapest, dopamine-triggering street-solution which often includes dangerous ingredients that are mixed into them. Several people have mentioned things like carpet powder, lithium-ion batteries, mascara, coffee grounds, and powdered milk being put in. Some have even admitted to making & selling their drugs on the street. Overdoses are common and coming off of a “high” can be severe and depressing, which then triggers a low mood and begins the craving cycle to find more drugs to offset those feelings–it’s a painful, terrifying cycle.
Q: Why does there seem to be an influx of homeless people coming to Utah?
A: The answer is 4-fold: 1) Utah tends to have more resources available 2) is more affluent and safer than a lot of states 3) is more generous because of high religiosity rates and 4) a neighboring state has admitted to shipping them in. Some also get stuck here on their way to other states.
Q: Besides housing & food, what resources do they need? *Click here
Q: Do all homeless people want to get off the streets or are some content living the way they are?
A: I have asked that question a number of times and the general consensus seems to be in their words, “about 30% don’t want to change and are content living the way they do.” How accurate that number is cannot be known but hearing it multiple times from those on the street lends some credibility.
Q: What happens if they get sick or hurt on the streets? (*This is opinion from several people who have been to the ER and quickly released including this man & woman below)
A: An ambulance will come if someone calls 911 and then takes them to the nearest hospital for a brief evaluation. If the injuries are not life-threatening, they are released back on to the streets within hours with minimal medication. Federal law requires ERs to screen and stabilize emergency patients regardless of ability to pay, leaving hospitals with unpaid costs when no coverage or payment is available.
Q: How do they defend themselves?
A: Many come from a prison background already knowing how to fight, while others have to learn how to fend off attackers however they can. Several people I interviewed told me they carry knives for safety but any weapon found by police during random searches are immediately confiscated. The safest way to protect oneself is to create alliances and work together for protection.
Q: What Are Some Ways My Family and I Can Get Involved?
*There are many ways to get your family, friends & groups involved (*click here).
