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Show ThuRsdAy, Pacje Six OciobER 1, 1987 FOCUS . ffimidl Din Utah shelter On tNe HoimeIes- s- Horn Iss u family trailers are available nightly for a minimal fee Circumstances similar to the Pugh's have left many people homeless. Some choose life on the streets. Others have turned to families or churches for assistance. Still more live in shelters until they get back on their feet. And while large metropolitan areas like New York City and Los Angeles have large populations of homeless individuals and families, Salt Lake City also has a growing number of people living on the streets. That problem, until recently, has not been fully addressed by city lawmakers or citizens. By Dennis Romboy Chronicle investigative editor Randy and Annette Pugh and their three children have been living at the family shelter at 600 S. 700 West since moving from Denver last month. But like most homeless people in Salt Lake City, they never imagined themselves lb. i 5 X 1 mJfm n hungry and living beneath a freeway offramp. A year ago, Randy was making more than $100 a day as a certified welder. When his employer went bankrupt he moved his family into his parent's home for a while. That didn't work out, so they tried a family shelter in Colorado before moving to Utah. Annette said she had never heard of a shelter until they ended up in one. For obvious reasons, she doesn't like it. Annette worries about her children. The shelter currently houses approximately 40 adults and just as many children. The children play under a viaduct or on a i Annette Pugh, like other mothers, faces the daily chore of cooking. But hers must be done over an open fire built under one of the many nearby " viaducts because shelter residents are asked not to cook on the premises. In 1986, Salt Lake Mayor Palmer DePaulis set up the Utah Homeless Task grassless playground separated from the Force. The committee concluded that on any given day there are between 1,400 and 2,400 homeless persons in the state. The study further estimated that 500 to 1,000 of those individuals seek shelter in Salt Lake City. And third of them remain in the state six months or longer. Stephen Holbrook, director of the task force, said most homeless people report they are in the Salt Lake Valley looking for work. One fourth of them are men with families and single women with children. Only 14 percent of the Utahns without permanent residences have decided to spend their lives that way. Most homeless people don't choose to wander the streets or sleep in freeway by only a chainlink fence. Annette, like other mothers, faces the daily chore of cooking. But hers must be done over an open fire built under one of the many nearby viaducts because shelter residents are asked not to cook on the premises. It's hard for her and her husband, she said. And although they've argued about her finding a job, Annette said Randy will not allow her to work. w 11111111 (Although the Pughs have had their problems at the shelter, they said they are thankful it exists. For $1.50 a night, the family lives in the one of the trailers. Plus they receive food stamps to exchange for shelters. According to the task force report, half of those who choose the streets for life never stay in the overcrowded shelters, but opt for the streets instead. Those that do must be out by 8 a.m. They spend most of their days standing in line for temporary employment, selling blood or getting food at one of Salt Lake's soup kitchens. And after a day of lines, they might again queue up to gain entry into a shelter for the night. Holbrook said many of the homeless come basic needs. Even though the past two months have been difficult, Randy said he never gave up hope of finding a job and maintained a positive attitude. In Randy's case that optimism and Chronicle photo by Steve Wilson Children like John Riley and Brian Ben, who live in shelters, often create their own grassless playgrounds among the concrete viaducts laced with barbed cars. wire surrounded by the sounds of fast-movi- ng a willingness to work have paid off. He and his family are now in the process of moving to California, where he secured a job with a salary comparable to his former job. The Pugh family have pulled themselves out of a bad situation. But for many of Salt Lake's homeless,' the situation never gets better. please see "family" page eight - Plight of the hungry is constant Local government responds with helping hand By Dennis Romboy For example, Blackman said the Reagan administration has penalized people for turning to their families for help. Chronicle investigative editor If homeless family moves in with relatives, they disqualify themselves from obtaining food stamps. The The plight of Utah's hungry and homeless has, for the most part, been left in the hands of volunteer organizations with little government assistance. Utahns Against Hunger (UAH) claim state and local governments have not played a significant role in the welfare of the poor. "Lots of Utahns don't think anyone's hungry," Steve Blackman, UAH special projects coordinator said. "If they do, they think the Mormon Church will help." The LDS Church has a traditional role in meeting the social need of Utah's people, but according to UAH this compounds the state's lack of commitment to the poor. As a result almost all of the public assistance programs have been imposed by the federal government, Blackman reasoning behind this law implies the family already living in the home is earning enough to care for the family they have taken in, he said. While federal and state funds to aid Utah's hungry and non-prof- it, homeless population may be on the decline, Salt Lake government has begun to address the problem. Last year Mayor Palmer DePaulis along with Salt Lake County Commissioner Mike Stewart and former commissioner Tom Shimizu convened a task force to study the homeless situation in Utah. Activities of the task force were funded by the Salt Lake City Police Department, the Utah Department of Community and Economic said. Currently, federal dollars comprise the greater portion of welfare assistance to the state. State and local taxes are used only as required to match funds supplied by the federal government. Under the Reagan administration, federal assistance has decreased. With less federal money to work with, questions are again being raised about the ability and willingness of the state to replace those lost federal resources. low-inco- a Development and a group of concerned citizens. As a result of the study, the Greater Salt Lake Area Committee was formed to raise an old renovate warehouse into a family and to money women's shelter. So far nearly $1.6 million of the $4 million project has been raised, Stephen Holbrook, director of the task force, said. So far, federal, state, county and city governments have provided $700,000. The rest has come from donations. The city will not own the shelter, Holbrook said, but it will Shelter-the-Homele- ss me - IJ2 Bmii .M.IMMiS Mm nn,i,rW' Chronicle photo by Steve Wilson Utah's homeless are welcomed into shelters and soup kitchens that seek to provide warmth, food and a some comfort to those who find themselves on the streets. be a private non-prof- Holbrook, a it effort with the mayor as former three-ter- m co-cha- ir. state legislator, said DePaulis has been very cooperative in providing resources and assistance for the project. Eventually a permanent men's shelter will be added to the facility. In addition, other services for the homeless will be located with the shelters. They will include job training and referral programs, substance abuse counseling, health and dental clinics and a volunteer center. Although these plans will serve the needs of many of Salt please see "shelters" page eight |