It’s almost like a late Christmas present weeks after the holiday. 

Midvale City received an additional $228,000 to the Homeless Shelter Cities Mitigation Fund in January with Midvale’s Project and Policy Manager Erinn Summers presenting the project and plan to the council. Those funds are then directed by the city to the Midvale Family Resource Center at 529 W. 7300 South (9th Ave.). 

The money comes on top of the almost $3 million the city received for the current fiscal year which was used for nine shelter resource officers, a part-time victim advocate, insurance and supplies, weekly clean-up of the 7200 South corridor and a sidewalk and crosswalk along 700 West according to Summers. 

Councilmember Dustin Gettel liked the planned sidewalk for that area with the ground so worn by footsteps over the same patches of grass. “That will be great,” he said.

The additional one-time $228,000 awarded to Midvale City, and must be used by June 30 of this year, will go toward daily bus passes for those at the resource center and Narcan for patrol and shelter resource officers when working within .5 mile of the center.

Other projects, identified by city staff with stakeholders and service providers to address one-time needs, include renovating a kitchen that has multiple stoves out of commission. This forces families to find food elsewhere navigating busy nearby roads like 7200 South during rush hour or after dark. 

Security in the parking lot will be improved with the funding with Summers saying cameras will be installed throughout the lot, which will also be resurfaced. Fencing will also be improved. 

Any leftover funds will go toward application fees, to help residents move into housing faster. With little funding available to support families with application fees while moving into housing, families are often forced to stay in the shelter longer, stretching center resources further. 

The improvements are possible because of the State Homeless Shelter Cities Mitigation Fund established in 2018. 

“The purpose is to help cities that host shelters to mitigate the impact of that shelter on the city and surrounding neighborhoods,” Summers told the council. “They do this primarily through three ways: helping with public safety, helping with emergency services and helping with direct services.” 

Gettel said all of these improvements “are wonderful” for The Road Home, who operates the resource center, and hoped the Narcan would help immediately. 

“I love everything about this,” he said. λ