According to a recent Tribune article, Wayne Niederhouser, the Utah Homeless Coordinator, reported that a $5 million gap exists in shelter money for the homeless in Utah this winter. May I suggest that Niederhauser talk to the Utah Inland Port Authority board, another Utah state agency, because the Inland Port has been given tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from the Legislature. The only thing that the Inland Port really does is subsidize the development of enormous warehouses.
Now, many of these new warehouses are vacant, and so, if the Inland Port board won’t provide Niederhauser the $5 million that he needs, maybe the board could open up one of its warehouses for the homeless. It’s very late in the season and bitter cold is on the way. At least five homeless people froze to death last winter on the streets of Salt Lake City.
Should we care about our fellow man? What are our priorities in this state? Just one empty warehouse could give shelter to all of the homeless who have nowhere to go.
James King, Salt Lake City
