You might be surprised to learn that Utah was one of the first places in America to adopt a successful "housing first" model to fight homelessness. This program reduced homelessness in Utah by an astounding 91%. But when the state abandoned this effort in 2017 - under pressure from the far-right Cicero Institute - homelessness shot back up again.
Recently, it was announced that Salt Lake City was building a new complex in an undeveloped part of the city to house 1,300 homeless people. Many media outlets portrayed this as a great, forward-thinking move. But now the sad truth is starting to emerge.
It's actually a concentration camp. The city plans to round up homeless people, transport them to this camp involuntarily, and force them to do hard labor. Randy Shumway of the state's Homeless Services Board said of those housed there, "You're not coming in and out," and boasted that this detention camp was part of a fight against Utah's "culture of permissiveness." Yep, when I think of "permissiveness", I think of Utah. Shumway also writes for Forbes, which is owned by a Chinese Communist Party-linked company.
The Cicero Institute figures prominently in this boondoggle as well, as one of its officials praised this camp and demanded other states and cities follow.
Shumway - like a true Nazi - also urged expansion of involuntary "civil commitment" to have people locked up without due process.
The camp will lose money too. It will cost $75 million to build and $34 million per year to operate.
What we really need to do is go back to the "housing first" model that was successful in places that tried it. In addition to the 91% drop in Utah, this model virtually eliminated homelessness in Norway, and it reduced homelessness in Milwaukee by 50%. Some officials in Louisville have even become interested in "housing first" after a visit by Milwaukee officials.
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