Addressing Homelessness in Utah
New Year’s Resolutions for 2025
Politicized policies have kept homeless individuals trapped in cycles of dependency rather than getting them back to self-sufficiency. That’s why, despite increased spending, homelessness has continued to rise in Utah.
The Cicero Institute suggests Utah makes a New Year’s Resolution in 2025 to implement system-wide accountability and real solutions that truly serve the homeless and wider communities.
Utah should:
- Make a concerted effort to intervene in the drug market that preys on vulnerable people experiencing homelessness and perpetuates their destitution. One solution with a proven record of success is to create drug-free zones with heightened penalties for drug use and distribution.
- Ban “safe-injection sites” and limit clean-syringe exchanges from 10-for-one
to one-for-one. - Raise a second conviction of hard drug possession to a third-degree felony to penalize repeat offenders.
- Call on federal authorities to end “housing first” mandates and to free up state funds for different kinds of care.
- Create a statewide framework to implement a pilot program that pairs homeless individuals with a case manager who can help them with individualized solutions.
- Ensure that first responders to overdoses are able to offer treatment resources right away.
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