SALT LAKE CITY — Utah kicked off a major step in its new effort to combat chronic homelessness Wednesday by launching a new program to help high-utilizers of the criminal justice and shelter systems get back on their feet.
State leaders have increasingly focused on this population of repeat offenders who are homeless and account for a significant share of arrests for lower-level crimes. As of Wednesday, four such individuals are among the first to enter the Department of Corrections’ ARCH Project, an alternative to prison or jail that provides resources to help people get back on their feet.
“It’s just adding a piece of the puzzle that wasn’t there before,” said Tyler Clancy, the state’s homeless coordinator. “We have amazing providers in the homeless services space that are serving these clients through street outreach or through emergency shelter. The challenge becomes when … they need a specialized support, and that’s what this is. So rather than replacing something in the system, this is just adding a new type of capacity that hasn’t existed before.”
The ARCH Project is an acronym that stands for assessment and accountability, reentry and response, coordination and compassion and high-utilizer support. Lawmakers approved a bill behind the program with unanimous support earlier this year, giving $2.6 million in one-time funding for facility renovations and $6 million ongoing for annual operations.
It aims to provide support for so-called high-utilizers of the justice system: those who frequently cycle through shelters, correctional facilities and emergency rooms, and lack long-term support.
Leaders announced the project at a ribbon-cutting at the newly renovated Orange Street Community Correction Center in Salt Lake City, where 60 beds are available for those who qualify for the program. The program is open to people who have been arrested for repeated misdemeanor convictions, who are unsheltered and who are deemed a good fit for the program by the courts.
Supportive programs have previously been available for higher-level offenders convicted of felonies, but the ARCH Project will make similar services available to those who repeatedly commit misdemeanor crimes. In the past, some individuals have been charged with dozens of misdemeanors, resulting in prison time. Once released, the cycle can repeat as they struggle to find work or housing.
“This is providing a pathway for them,” said Nick Bricker, chief of community safety and stability for the Department of Corrections. “We provide services, treatment options here, but we also have community partners and pathways out in the community.”
Some in the program may qualify for housing at a program like Odyssey House or First Step House, Bricker said, but the department will continue to serve as a case manager, a major shift in how the state oversees treatment and recovery for high-utilizers.
“It’s not them just getting sent around town for all these different siloed things,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that they get a driver’s license, that they have their vital documents, that they get this treatment, that they are getting employment and job skills, and all of those things underlying their treatment.”
The project has space for a total of 180 individuals — including space for men at the Fortitude Treatment Center and for women at the Bonneville Community Correctional Center, both in Salt Lake City — but extra capacity could become available if some in the program are eligible to reside at an outpatient facility.
Some 1,300 people have been identified as potential candidates for the program, according to the Department of Corrections.
Clancy said the program’s success will be measured by the outcomes of the individuals.
“We know that there’s things that we’re going to learn even within the first year, so we’re going to evaluate, refine and continue to go forward,” he said. “It’s not specific to this program, but for all of our programs, we really want to be specific about funding outcomes.”
The ARCH Project is part of Utah’s shift in approach to homelessness, and several officials spoke of the role accountability will play in their efforts.
“We believe that two things can be true at the same time,” said Department of Corrections Commissioner Jared Garcia. “We believe that accountability can exist, but also with compassion, and they have to occur simultaneously. Otherwise, we won’t find the results that we are seeking.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Source: www.ksl.com
