The following was written by Tad Walch for the Deseret News. To read the full article, click here.
The LDS Church announced a $10 million donation to Shelter the Homeless on Thursday for the construction and development of more transitional housing in the Salt Lake Valley.
The church has now donated a total of at least $52 million over the past decade to eight groups that serve the homeless in the Salt Lake City.
“Homelessness affects all sectors of our communities,” said Bishop Gérald Caussé, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Around the world, we join hands and hearts with dozens of partners engaged in alleviating suffering in their respective communities, and in the process we point people towards greater self-reliance.”
The donation was hailed by local government leaders and welcomed by Shelter the Homeless.
Leaders of the church and Shelter the Homeless have not discussed exactly how the donation will be used, but the goal is to help homeless people and families transition to stable housing, according to a church news release and Janelle Fluckiger, executive director of Shelter the Homeless.
To read the full article on the Deseret News, click here.
MaryNovember 3, 2017
Goldminer: re: "the mess their decisions have made." Wrong. I haven't gone bankrupt because my family health insurance wouldn't cover medical costs for a chronic or terminally ill spouse or child. I haven't suffered long-term unemployment despite my best efforts during an economic downturn or failing economy. I am not disabled. I am not a veteran with PTSD. I haven't suffered the debilitating effects of mental illness. I take it you haven't either. To David D, I say, let them come. It would be unthinkable to turn even one of God's children away. These comments were sent by us with the press of a button using state-of-the- art technology from the warmth of our homes as winter approaches. If only all of life could be so simple.
A thoughtNovember 3, 2017
@Goldminer, just because you haven't personally seen evidence doesn't mean that there isn't evidence. Utah actually leads the nation in solving the problems of chronic homelessness. The LA Times reported that Utah had reduced it's chronic homelessness by 91% in 2015. And as far as engaging personally, Salt Lake just held Project Homeless Connect in October of this year, which was a one-stop event at the Salt Palace for homeless people to come and have access to hygiene and health services and employment and housing opportunities and face time with people to help them have opportunities to get back on their feet. Hundreds of homeless people came and were personally assisted at the event. Utah is far from just throwing money at the problem, they really are making serious strides towards solving it.