Bill Tibbitts

Utah homeless coordinator to retire before key legislative session for homelessness funding • Utah News Dispatch Former Utah Senate president and homeless coordinator Wayne Niederhauser will be retiring on Dec. 5, leaving the homeless campus unfinished.

Utah homeless coordinator to retire before key legislative session for homelessness funding utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/10/21/u...

Opinion: Why Utah's homelessness proposals won't work After 20 years working with people experiencing homelessness, I can say Utah’s proposed legislative changes will repeat old mistakes.

Derek Wentorf is correct-- "What I’m seeing in the current proposals isn’t innovation — it’s a return to approaches that research and experience have shown produce worse outcomes at a higher cost."
www.deseret.com/opinion/2025...

As some cities sweep homeless camps, St. George is taking a service-first approach Federal and local authorities have made headlines recently for clearing homeless camps from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles. That concerns advocates in St. George who hope it doesn’t signal a shift in ...

As some cities sweep homeless camps, St. George is taking a service-first approach www.kuer.org/race-religio...

Utah’s new homeless campus should have 300-plus beds for civil commitment, board chair says • Utah News Dispatch After President Donald Trump's executive order on homelessness, Utah is looking to build 300 civil commitment beds in a new homeless campus.

Utah’s new homeless campus should have 300-plus beds for civil commitment, board chair says utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/09/18/u...

Shumway has a couple ideas for funding all of these involuntary treatment and commitment beds-- using federal Medicaid funding, taking federal homeless services funding away from other counties and making cities and counties pay a share-- presumably through a tax increase.

The plan envisions having hundreds of beds at the new mega shelter dedicated to involuntary commitment for people with mental illness and involuntary substance use treatment for others.

This morning the chair of Utah's Homeless Services Board presented the "comprehensive services" he wanted the state legislature to fund at a proposed new central campus with a very strong emphasis on law enforcement.
le.utah.gov/interim/2025...

A scary time in Utah Email from Crossroads Urban Center FACE Hunger and Homelessness Weekly Update Dear friends and colleagues: About fifteen years ago I spoke to a volunteer with the Coalition of Religious Communities wh

We are in a scary time for people involved with politics in Utah. We need to remind ourselves there are ways of dealing with conflict other than silence and violence.
myemail.constantcontact.com/A-scary-time...

Many Low-Income People Will Soon Begin to Lose Food Assistance Under Republican Megabill | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun publishing guidance outlining how states must begin implementing some of the deepest SNAP cuts from the Republican megabill enacted in July.[1] While...

Many Low-Income People Will Soon Begin to Lose Food Assistance www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

Missing transportation links could trip up Salt Lake City’s new homeless campus A 1,300-bed homeless campus is planned for northwest Salt Lake City, but the nearest public transportation option is 2.5 miles away. Some stakeholders worry the transportation gap will steer…

“Transportation is such a huge part of getting out of homelessness,” said @bill-tibbitts.bsky.social. And a lack of options at SLC’s planned campus could become a compounding problem.

Everything is set up for our annual poverty summit. We are so grateful for all the people who have agreed to come and participate.

It appears the closest bus stop is 2.5 miles away. That will make searching for work to move out quite challenging. Should UTA’s Redwood Road route be extended north by 2.5 miles?

Utah officials unveil site for 1,300-bed homeless campus after long, secretive search • Utah News Dispatch Utah state officials announced a 15.8-acre property they've been eying for a new 1,300-bed homeless campus, near North Salt Lake.

New supersized homeless campus to be located at 2520 N. 2200 West in Salt Lake City

utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/09/03/u...

So this happened at the Utah State Capitol today. They’re filming an episode of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!” #utpol #Utah

The primary goal for work requirement programs in Utah should be to help people move into higher paying jobs that provide health insurance and other benefits www.crossroadsurbancenter.org/news/ideas-f...

Scoop: Trump seeks "Apple Store-like experience" for government websites Gebbia, a co-founder of Airbnb, tells Axios he wants to update federal websites to be an "Apple Store-like experience."

Heaven knows it would be nice if the federal government led efforts to improve the customer experience of people navigating the eligibility process for Medicaid, SNAP and other programs.
www.axios.com/2025/08/23/g...

Why you should attend Crossroads Urban Center's Poverty Summit on September 6 On the morning of September 6 Crossroads Urban Center will be holding its annual Poverty Summit at at Hilltop United Methodist Church in Sandy. Highlights for the summit will include: A keynote...

Why you should attend Crossroads Urban Center's Poverty Summit on September 6:
www.crossroadsurbancenter.org/news/why-you...

What can Utah do to get ready for Medicaid work requirements? President Trump signed a large budget reconciliation bill in July that included new work requirements for Medicaid. Federal Medicaid administrators are expected to send guidelines to state...

State policymakers estimate the new Medicaid work requirements could lead to 24,900 Utahns losing access to basic healthcare. What can be done to reduce that number?
www.crossroadsurbancenter.org/news/what-ca...

State officials estimate 24,900 Utahns may be cut off Medicaid when new federal work requirements are imposed. That is why this meeting next week with Utah's Medicaid Director about how Utah can hopefully reduce that number is important.

Jazz, Mammoth win $1-a-year arena rent until 2125, how much will that cost Salt Lake City? One of the most common questions I get from journalists new to the world of sports subsidies is "Where can I find a list of how much public money went to each stadium and arena?" and my answer is alwa...

"Okay, so Smith gets to have his NBA and NHL teams play at the Delta Center for $1 a year. . . through the year 2125 if he wants"
www.fieldofschemes.com/2025/08/14/2...

Health Care Groups Aim To Counter Growing ‘National Scandal’ of Elder Homelessness - KFF Health News The housing crisis is requiring creative scrambling and new partnerships from health care organizations to keep older patients out of expensive nursing homes as homelessness grows.

Health care organizations know that for older patients to stay healthy, they need a place to live. KFF Health News reports on how some medical groups are getting creative to help seniors amid high housing costs.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

State leaders brace for ‘heavy lift’ from Medicaid, food stamp changes • Utah News Dispatch States are sorting through the long-term impacts of Republicans' spending and tax law — and what actions they can take to soften the blow.

State leaders brace for ‘heavy lift’ from Medicaid, food stamp changes utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/08/17/s...

Utah homelessness rose 18% in 2025, state report says • Utah News Dispatch Utah homelessness rose 18% according to the 2025 Point-in-Time Count. Despite the increase, Utah's rate is still below the national average.

Child and senior homelessness surges in Utah’s latest count

utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/08/13/u...

The Senate Banking Committee did a good thing yesterday by passing The ROAD to Housing Act. It has some good pieces and makes some positive improvements. Energizing all of us to keep up the good work to make housing affordable for all.

x.com/willpfischer...

"This crisis arose from 45 years of really mistaken policies, where we underinvested in affordable housing. . health care, mental health care. . . And when it takes 45 years to create a crisis, it's unrealistic, unfortunately, to think it can be ended overnight." www.upr.org/2025-07-27/h...

Will Trump's order on homelessness treatment make Utah streets safer? Some Utah leaders celebrated a recent executive order from President Donald Trump, which seeks to make it easier to move people from homeless encampments into treatment facilities.

Trump’s executive order on homelessness is what used to be called an unfunded mandate.
www.ksl.com/article/5135...

Trump’s new Executive Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes - National Homelessness Law Center National Homelessness Law Center condemns Trump’s misguided Executive Order on homelessness Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as a crime, will make homelessness worse ...

National Homelessness Law Center condemns Trump’s misguided Executive Order on homelessness
homelesslaw.org/statement724...

Families, kids most at risk of losing HUD housing with Trump’s proposed time limits A Trump administration proposal could put more than a million low-income households at risk of losing their government-subsidized housing.

Families, kids most at risk of losing HUD housing with Trump’s proposed time limits
apnews.com/article/hud-...

Legislators Push Back Against ‘Rent-Setting’ Software Lawmakers in two dozen cities and states have made strides to stop landlords from using algorithmic software to determine rent prices.

Legislators Push Back Against ‘Rent-Setting’ Software: shelterforce.org/2025/07/11/l...

Who is Valar Atomics? • Utah News Dispatch Valar Atomics, a company exploring nuclear energy development for Utah, has been criticized by experts for its safety claims.

I love self taught genius inventors in other areas but is it too much to ask that people who want to build nuclear reactors in your state have some formal education in physics and engineering? utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/07/07/v...