SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 9, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Health and Human Services has announced a Code Blue alert for 19 Utah counties for Saturday triggered by temperatures dropping to 15 degrees.
The alerts, begun for the first time late last month, are issued under a state law that took affect this year. The statute allows for the relaxing of entry standards at homeless shelters and giving officials more leeway in identifying new locations to shield the homeless from the cold and other measures such as overriding bans on camping.
The alert is in effect from 8 a.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday, the DHHS announced online. The alerts had stopped for several days with briefly warmer temperatures. An alert was issued for Friday for 18 counties, the alert for Saturday adding Salt Lake County.
That effectively makes the current alert stand for essentially the vast majority of the state’s population, with nine of Utah’s least populous counties not monitored under the Code Blue program.
Washington County is not included in either Friday or Saturday’s alert. More information and the DHHS Code Blue map can be viewed at dhhs.utah.gov/code-blue-utah.
The Code Blue alerts are issued when temperatures are expected to drop to 15 degrees for two hours or more during a 24-hour period. The following provisions apply when a Code Blue takes effect:
- A homeless shelter may expand its capacity limit by up to 35% to provide temporary shelter to any number of individuals experiencing homelessness, so long as the homeless shelter is in compliance with the applicable building and fire codes.
- A homeless shelter shall implement expedited intake procedures for individuals experiencing homelessness who request access to the shelter.
- A homeless shelter may not deny temporary shelter to any individual experiencing homelessness who requests access to the shelter unless it is at the capacity limit or if the individual presents a danger to the shelter’s staff or guests.
- Any indoor facility owned by a private organization, nonprofit organization, state government entity or local government entity may be used to provide temporary shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness and is exempt from licensure requirements throughout the Code Blue alert and for seven days after the alert ends, so long as the facility is in compliance with building and fire codes.
- Homeless shelters, state and local government entities, and other organizations that provide services to individuals experiencing homelessness shall coordinate street outreach efforts to distribute to individuals experiencing homelessness any available resources for survival in cold weather, including clothing items and blankets.
- If no beds or other accommodations are available at any homeless shelters located within the affected county, a municipality may not enforce an ordinance that prohibits camping for the duration of the Code Blue alert and for two days after the alert ends.
- A state or local government entity, including a municipality, law enforcement agency, and local health department may not enforce an ordinance or policy to seize from individuals experiencing homelessness any personal items for survival in cold weather, including clothing, blankets, tents, sleeping bags, heaters, stoves and generators.
