SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Corrections cut the ribbon on a remodeled facility that could be the only one of its kind in the nation.
The Orange Street Community Correctional Facility, which used to house female inmates being reintroduced into the community from prison, has been completely remodeled. Drab colors and linoleum have given way to soothing woods and comforting paintings, making it feel more therapeutic. The scent of citrus hangs in the air.
"We’re very excited about the opportunity to help people transform their lives," Utah Dept. of Corrections Commissioner Jared Garcia told FOX 13 News on Wednesday.
The facility will now house a subset of people experiencing homelessness that the state has targeted because they are a disproportionate drain on the health care and criminal justice system. Nicknamed "high utilizers," they are people who cycle in and out of jails, hospitals and shelters for years and eat up roughly $50 million in taxpayer dollars in medical costs, social services and the criminal justice system.
A recent study by the Utah Office of Homeless Services found that roughly 75% of the documented 4,584 Utahns experiencing homelessness are out of shelters and into housing after about a year. But "high utilizers" — estimated to be 1,021 individuals arrested four or more times in a year — represent about 43% of Salt Lake City's total arrests and about 783 of them are currently unsheltered and have been for more than five years now.
Instead of funding a controversial shelter campus that critics blasted as a "mega-shelter," the Utah State Legislature instead opted to fund programs targeting "high utilizers" and put Utah's Department of Corrections in charge. They formed the "Assessment and Accountability, Reentry and Response, Coordination and Compassion for High Utilizers" or "ARCH" program. With many people considered "high utilizers" racking up numerous criminal charges and warrants, courts will now be able to divert them to the ARCH program where there is supervision and treatment.
"Ninety-five percent of people in prison will re-enter our community and be our neighbors. This population we’re talking about today, it’s our hope that we prevent them from coming to prison altogether," Commissioner Garcia said. "We want them to transform their lives, we want them to gain the opportunities all of us need to be successful. We think adding a little bit of accountability will help and also having great partnership and collaboration with different providers will help us be successful."
FOX 13 News visited Orange Street in July when inmates were being moved out and the place was under remodel. It is a bold new experiment in addressing the state's homelessness problem. The facility will be a "one stop shop" for people to live, get treatment and support services.
Amy Daeschel, a licensed clinical social worker with Odyssey House, who used to live on the streets and is now in recovery, said she hopes the program will help others. Speaking at the facility's ribbon cutting, she described being in and out of jail and addicted to painkillers until she was finally offered therapeutic services in a police crackdown.
"What broke the cycle for me was being in jail. So I can understand the motivation behind this, especially with the high utilizer population, of how do we get them stable enough to make the right choice?" she told FOX 13 News. "What I'm loving about this model is they're bringing community partners, bringing in the evidence-based care, partnering with organizations that's been doing this work for years on end and having the experts come in and formulate this program. I think it’s great for stability, I think for them to have an option to make a choice, to choose their accountability, to choose their path forward and to have some structure along the way doing it."
Other advocates for unsheltered Utahns have said they will be watching the program and its efforts closely, hoping that it is a way to connect people cycling between homelessness and jail with resources they need but worried it could expand beyond that.
The ARCH program has bipartisan support from Utah's Capitol Hill. Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, spoke in favor of it at Wednesday's ribbon cutting as did Sen. Cal Musselman, R-West Haven, who helped secure funding for it.
Tyler Clancy, a former Provo police officer who now heads Utah's Office of Homeless Services, has argued the status quo has not worked. He believes the ARCH program and its partnerships "can fill the gaps in the system and help people heal."
Clancy told FOX 13 News that they have already had some people move in to Orange Street.
"Just this week, we learned that there are some participants who have raised their hand and said this is something they need," he said.