A woman who was living at a homeless encampment set up in a private resident’s yard died Sunday morning from what the camp organizer believes was carbon monoxide poisoning she got after trying to keep her tent warm.
Darin Mann, who owns the Fairpark neighborhood property where The Village Camp is located, said in a news release that the woman’s death was a result of the city’s “inaction” on providing resources to people experiencing homelessness.
He said, “It is also clear we don’t have the resources to handle this problem on a private residence. It is time we create and implement a lasting solution.”
He advocated building a tiny home community in the woman’s memory.
Salt Lake City officials said Mann’s claim of inaction was inaccurate.
“Annually the city provides more than $15 million in funding to support the professional agencies that provide direct services to the unsheltered — from running the homeless resource centers, to providing outreach and access to drug and mental health treatment — so that individuals can move indoors and get on a path to greater stability,” they said in a statement.
Salt Lake City police Lt. Steve Wooldridge confirmed a 45-year-old woman died at the camp Sunday morning.
Police were called there just after 6 a.m. Sunday because a man was having medical problems, and when they arrived they noticed others needing medical attention.
The woman was the only person who died.
Wooldridge said he didn’t know of any other deaths at this camp but said, “These things happen from time to time all over the camps.”
He encouraged those working with people experiencing homelessness to direct the unsheltered to established, government-funded resources.
The woman’s death comes as activists and government officials have been sparring over the best ways to help Salt Lake City’s population of people experiencing homelessness, with many activist groups taking the work on themselves by giving out meals and and organizing camps.
Salt Lake County health officials dispersed residents and infrastructure at another encampment, Camp Last Hope, late last week. Set up beneath an overpass, it was one of the largest and most organized encampments Salt Lake City has ever seen.
During a public comment period at the Salt Lake City Council’s formal meeting last Tuesday, some Salt Lake City residents criticized the decision to conduct the camp sweep, because of forecasts of below freezing temperatures snowstorms last week and asked the city to give people experiencing homelessness more time.
Officials said the night the woman died, beds were available at every shelter in the city’s system. They said they are now working with Mann to move those remaining at The Village Camp to open shelter beds.
Editor’s note • Anyone seeking shelter is encouraged to call the coordinated entry intake line at 801-990-9999.
