From 2019 to 2023, the number of disabled Utahns experiencing chronic homelessness rose by 96%, according to a data report by Utah Office of Homeless Services. 

Sandy City is helping tackle that problem.

The city council renewed its agreement on April 21 with a transitional housing facility for older adults and people with serious health problems. 

City leaders first signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shelter the Homeless, Inc. in October 2023, establishing a framework for its Medically Vulnerable People (MVP) Interim Housing Program. The newly amended agreement recognizes that the shelter’s mobile clinic has moved indoors.

The onsite clinic offers medically vulnerable people experiencing homelessness with nursing services five days per week and care with a primary physician up to two days a week. The health center also began providing blood tests, medical devices and occupational therapy with student trainees in 2025.

“The one area that has been difficult is in nursing,” Trina Taylor, the Fourth Street Clinic’s outreach director, told the council in January. “Not only have we seen a shortage in the state, but we have seen a shortage of nurses across the nation.” 

The shelter’s clinic, Taylor added, is currently recruiting for another nurse. However, the memorandum update indicates that the onsite clinic is providing more medical staff than promised, according to Laurie Hopkins, executive director for Shelter the Homeless.

Shelter the Homeless operates the MVP program in partnership with Fourth Street Clinic and The Road Home. The nonprofits run the program out of the former Econo Lodge on 8955 S. Harrison Street, converting the hotel into an emergency shelter with recuperative care.

“In our MVP facility, it is a low-barrier shelter that helps…people who have disabling or chronic medical conditions that make staying in congregate shelters unsafe or inappropriate, and it’s a place for them to have that safety while they are looking for permanent housing back in our communities,” Jay Leonard, The Road Home’s grants and compliance officer, told the council in April.

Last year, the MVP program served 464 people, a 20% increase from 2024, according to an annual report presented to city lawmakers in January. The shelter also helped 57 individuals move into permanent housing or long-term care.

The amended agreement with Sandy also increases the frequency of Shelter the Homeless's reports to the council from quarterly to semi-annual. Councilmember Marci Houseman wants those presentations to focus more on outcomes rather than services provided.

“It doesn’t need to live within the MoU as long as we have this shared understanding of that when there is reporting to us, I’m really hungry and eager for outcomes-based data,” Houseman said.

Hopkins, with Shelter the Homeless, told Sandy lawmakers in April that she would be happy to make the next presentation more outcomes-focused.