As Utah’s cold snap continues, so do efforts to get homeless residents off the frigid streets and into temporary shelters.
When temperatures fall below 18 degrees, including wind chill for two or more hours, homeless service providers may expand shelter capacity by up to 35% and other temporary shelters come on line.
Tuesday marked the 18th time this winter a so-called Code Blue alert has been issued in Salt Lake County. It’s also the 70th day for an alert in at least one of Utah’s counties.
When a Code Blue takes effect, about 240 emergency indoor beds are added in Salt Lake County.
Wednesday and Thursday are also expected to be Code Blue days in the state’s most populous county.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, five Salt Lake County shelters were already full, according to the End Utah Homelessness dashboard. The database said three others — West Valley City’s winter walk-in shelter, 3381 S. Redwood Road; the referral-only Salt Lake City microshelter, 548 S. 700 West; and Ville 1990, 1990 W. North Temple — had availability.
Designations weren’t yet available for the shelters at St. Vincent de Paul, 437 W. 200 South; St. Mark’s Code Blue, 231 E. 100 South; and 2nd and 2nd Code Blue, 200 S. 200 East, but the website said they would open Tuesday night.
Andrew Johnston, Salt Lake City’s director of homeless policy and outreach, said the city’s first responders are notified of Code Blue alerts so they can pass on information to those experiencing homelessness. The city also sends out social workers to help people move inside.
Johnston said shelter operators have struggled to get enough volunteers to open up Code Blue beds. Those interested in volunteering at shelters on Code Blue nights in Salt Lake County can sign up at bit.ly/3Wpe6xW.
