Utah Governor�s Office
210 State Capitol
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
Dear Mr. Leavitt,
First I would like to say that I am astonished at the number of homeless people I see everyday in the local valley. I never really noticed or thought much about the homeless except at Thanksgiving and at Christmas time. Furthermore, it has come to my attention that many of them are not just bums who are expecting everyone else to take care of them; many of them are families and people who have been victims of an expensive society, where businesses pay minimum wage and housing costs are ever increasing. I believe that the state government needs to increase minimum wage levels, lower the cost of housing; or subsidize more housing, and most of all campaign to change the attitudes of the community toward the homeless so that citizens will offer more assistance to the shelters and to the shelter workers that help these unfortunate people everyday.
I recently read an article in the Deseret News regarding a single mother who ended up at our local shelter due to some misfortune in her life. When she seemed to get close to getting a job, the one thing that caused her not to be offered the position was the fact that she had the local homeless shelter as an address, thus proving the community�s attitude towards those living in the local shelters. I believe that we can change the local viewpoints of those homeless and destitute in our community who are victims of unfortunate circumstances. I believe through �help the homeless� campaigns that this is very possible. By campaigning, I mean having the government sponsor more awareness out to the public. This can be done by several different methods, for example, commercials that show the community what type of people are really out there, billboards that encourage donations of any sort, whether they be monetary donations, clothing, blankets, or even food. Possibly even encouraging the community with letters written by you to the newspapers or the news stations on how important it is to support the shelters and that this is a community problem not just a government problem.
Until recently, I always had the outlook that the shelters out there were just a quick fix for the ever-growing problem. I also thought that they were just an over crowded place that homeless people went for a quick meal and a warm bed for a few days. This is why I believe it is most important of all to change the viewpoints of the local community in regards to the shelters. I believe that if we change how the public views the shelters it can offer more hope to those who are honestly trying to become self-sufficient once again.
In showing the local community, what services these shelters really do offer, and the type of assistance that is still needed like more community involvement with monetary donations, volunteer time, and material donations. If we can change the viewpoint of the community toward the homeless situation, I believe that there would be much more community involvement in working to end homelessness.
Shelters seem to give the impression that the homeless population is a lost cause, they are just people who have put themselves in that position. When one has that outlook, it makes the community think to themselves, �why should I give them my hard earned money or my valuable time, when they are just going to go buy alcohol or drugs with it and not try to put their life back in order?�
In fact, to prove my point on the outlook of shelters there was an article in the Salt Lake Tribune back in January that stated our Mayor Rocky Anderson was appalled at how we were ranked by the National Coalition for the Homeless. We were ranked right below New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco as to how we treat the homeless within our local community. This is a perfect example of what perception the majority of our community has in regards to the homeless.
I believe that if the government was to have more active involvement in showing the community what the shelters are really offering and how much help and encouragement is needed from the community, we could make a huge difference in how much community involvement there is.
I think that it is important that we all live in a community together and that we all help each other out in any way that we can. There are so many ways that the community could be more involved if only they felt it was a worthy cause. It seems that the only time it seems to be a worthy cause is during the holidays at the end of the year. The community needs to understand that this is a year round problem, and that a majority of the homeless are families that have fallen victim to society, its expenses, or some catastrophic event. Housing is incredibly expensive and yet wages do not even come close for most of those struggling families, who feel that all hope is lost.
Please Mr. Leavitt, we need to bombard the community with how important it is to assist those homeless within our local area, with any help that we can offer and let those people know how much help they truly are bringing to the homeless people with their efforts. We need to let those volunteers or would-be volunteers know that it is certainly worth their time, money or whatever type of aid they can offer. We need to show our community the rewards of assisting those formerly homeless persons who are now are an asset to our state.
I certainly appreciate your time and attention in this matter. I hope to see the �help the homeless� campaign that will encourage goodness and generosity from our local citizens in assisting the ever-growing homeless population. I also believe that you are an honest and caring person and take to heart what the community has to say about things.
Thank you,
Heather Weaver
A concerned citizen
