In December 2025, Gov. Cox proposed that the state legislature provide an initial, one-time investment of $25 million and an ongoing investment of $20 million to combat homelessness in Utah. Homelessness has been increasing in Utah, growing by 18% from 2024 to 2025.
A total of 10,261 people experienced homelessness for the first time in the state in 2024. 15,383 people accessed state homelessness resources in that same year. As the state’s population is projected to increase by 2 million people by 2065, the challenges of urban crowding and homelessness will only become more difficult to address. In order to effectively respond tomorrow, we need to begin implementing creative and powerful decisions today.
Fortunately, the state government has had the foresight to come up with these solutions. These include a proposal to construct a 16-acre homeless campus with 1,300 beds in northern Salt Lake City near I-215. This would nearly double the number of beds available in Salt Lake County’s emergency shelter system from 1,560 to 2,860. The campus would also provide medical care, mental health services, employment and criminal justice assistance on site. Despite concerns, this program is an intelligent way to address the growing issue of homelessness in the long term.
Successes elsewhere
The Utah Homeless Campus cites two other examples as inspiration and proof of concept. The Haven for Hope project began in 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. It is a 22-acre campus providing temporary and permanent housing, emergency shelters, educational and employment services and medical care. When the site opened in 2010, the city recorded an 80% reduction in the homeless population of downtown San Antonio over the following two years. The Nevada Cares project began in 2020 in Reno. It is an 18.75-acre campus providing housing, emergency shelter, hygiene facilities and other supportive care. Since it opened, the facility has provided over 5,000 people with services and transitioned 700 people into permanent housing as of 2024.
This concept has promise. As the homeless population of Utah continues to grow, it is imperative to address the issue and the complications homelessness can cause. Homelessness can often make it harder for the affected to seek and receive treatment for different health-related issues, including infectious diseases. Additionally, some estimates claim that one-third of those experiencing homelessness are living with an untreated serious mental illness.
In his State of the State address in 2026, discussing the program, Cox said, “We’re starting with chronic homelessness — helping with mental illness and breaking the vicious cycle of addiction and crime.” Cox did not go into specifics about what this meant, unfortunately. However, the program is designed to serve as the center of a “hub and spoke system.” According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the new program will allow people “to access core services at a centralized hub, and once stabilized … to be connected efficiently to additional specialized resources across the community — the spokes.” This system will allow Utahns in need to be connected to the services they require and to overcome the difficulties they face. If the state can build a campus to provide these services to those experiencing homelessness, all Utahns can experience a higher quality of life and safer communities.
Long-term planning, not a short-term fix
The real benefit of this program would be to set up a system which would help prepare Salt Lake City, and Utah as a whole, for future growth. By 2065, Salt Lake County is projected to grow by 370,000 people. While this number is impressive and a reason for optimism on the overall economy of Utah, increased homelessness should be expected as well, as people fall through the cracks of urban growth.
This program is not without flaws, however. It has been compared to the Utah State Prison built in the Great Salt Lake Wetlands. Both programs required paving over part of the wetlands and are at risk for higher exposure to mosquitoes. However, the State Prison was ultimately able to overcome these issues by working with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District.
There are also deep concerns that this campus would trample on the civil rights of individuals involuntarily committed to this campus. Involuntary civil commitment is a complex legal issue, but those who are involuntarily committed are required to receive due process under the law, both for their rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and state law. Of course, no one should be involuntarily committed simply for being homeless. Homelessness is not a crime, nor should it be. However, serious addiction or untreated mental health issues could qualify someone for involuntary commitment under existing Utah law. The homeless campus would not criminalize homelessness nor create a new legal standard to commit people involuntarily. The homeless campus would not be a prison because the focus is not on punishing someone for being homeless, mentally ill or suffering from addiction. Rather, the focus is on providing treatment for these issues and a pathway out. In other words, the ultimate goal of a center like this is not to be used.
Crafting effective policy
Utah faces challenges if it is to continue its growth into the decades ahead. Homelessness, already rising in the state, has been and will remain one of those challenges. Some opponents of the campus emphasize that it shifts away from a “housing first” strategy, in which the emphasis is on providing housing without requiring treatment for addiction or other mental health concerns. However, shifting away from a “housing first” policy, as the new homeless campus will be focusing on mental health and addiction, is an important step in addressing the causes of chronic homelessness.
Treatment alone is also ineffective. Without changes to state policy on housing, Utah cannot build more homes to lower overall costs. Since 2015, average home values in Utah have doubled and average salaries have not kept pace. Without an adequate supply of housing, all the addiction treatment in the world will not solve the issue of homelessness. Another step to help with not only the issue of homelessness but also that of housing overall would be to reduce regulatory burdens and costs on housing. The issue of homelessness is complex, multi-faceted and requires addressing different policy areas to effectively manage. No program is perfect, but as a first step, the Utah Homeless Campus is worthy of our support.
