Donations allow Weigand Center to remain open
SALT LAKE CITY — The Weigand Center will remain open for at least one more year as a result of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County each donating $100,000 to Catholic Community Services. "We are so fortunate to have such great community partners," said Kathryn Brussard, Catholic Community Services director of development and marketing. "Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City have both come together and agreed to provide $100,000 each to fund the Weigand Center for the upcoming year. They also do realize that CCS will be expected to step up to the plate and continue to try to raise funds for the Weigand Center, as we have always tried to do. "One good thing that really came out of a lot of this was the fact that the situation with the Weigand Center was brought into the public eye," said Brussard. "We are hoping that the community will show its support for the Weigand Center as well. I am really asking the community now to step forward and state their support, and also, quite frankly, supply us with funding even if it is $5, $10, $15, or whatever people can afford. This way we can show Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County we really do have the backing of the community to keep the Weigand Center open. They are expecting us to show that support. "Of course, at the end of the day, we are really happy for our clients," said Brussard. "Because now we can continue to provide showers, laundry service, and basic services to our clients. But the excellent news on top of all of this, is we were only able to offer really bare bones services because of the small budget, and now our community partners have stepped forward to offer more services. Our community partners are The Road Home, Volunteers of America, and the 4th Street Clinic, who are all going to provide outreach services at the Weigand Center. "The Road Home is going to be putting a program in the Weigand Center that will help people get on the waiting list for permanent supportive housing if they so choose," said Brussard. "The 4th Street Clinic will be doing health outreach services by providing basic things like blood pressure screenings, and also help refer people to clinics if they need further evaluations." Brussard said CCS is now going to be able to offer the kind of follow-through services they were not able to provide in the past. "Another group who has come forward and offered their support and really were instrumental in helping the city decide to give us funding was the Salt Lake City Police Department," said Brussard. "They were really concerned about the closure of the Weigand Center and the way it would have affected the local community. They saw the value in the Weigand Center. They were concerned because they knew they may get more calls from local businesses with loitering problems, incidents in the parks may increase, and now these people have a gathering place again. "Having the Weigand Center really takes the pressure off the Salt Lake City police," said Brussard. "These clients who come to CCS for services do not belong to CCS, they belong to Salt Lake City. They are the homeless population of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. That was one of the big messages that needed to be emphasized. We just do not have the ability to continue to fund these kinds of services. It is up to the whole community to take care of these people. "Also, our Refugee Resettlement program is expanding, and we were going to move that office to the Weigand Center," said Brussard. "However, Salt Lake City has helped us find a rent-free facility at 663 West 100 South, and we will be moving there in the fall." "The money we are receiving from the City and the County is not permanent," said Brad Drake, CCS executive director. "It is just temporary. The concern was immediate and they addressed it. "I have every belief that in good will they will do everything in their power to fund us in a greater way than they have in the past," said Drake. "But we need the general public to understand we will need them to continue to support the Weigand Center financially. "Even though we have accumulated this additional $200,000, we are still running a $254,000 budget. So we have got to come up with an additional $54,000. It is a continuing cycle that a non-profit goes through. And regardless of who has given, it always seems like you can always use more, and certainly in this economy and the way things are going we are serving a greater number of people with greater needs. "We are increasing are services by partnering with other organizations and we are hopeful people will understand we are trying to impact people’s lives in a positive way," said Drake. "We are hopeful people will see these needs are being met and continue to help us down the road." Jose Lazaro, CCS director of Emergency Services said, "At the end of the year, we will all get together and try to work something out to see how we can keep the Weigand Center open. One of our main goals is to offer services that will benefit the individuals we serve. On any given day there are between 150 to 250 individuals who use the day shelter for services. "We will continue our partnership with the Salt Lake City Justice Court," said Lazaro. "Unfortunately when you are on the street, eventually you will get a jay walking ticket or other small tickets. A lot of the clients get tickets for camping on the sidewalks, camping in parking lots, or other minor offenses. Then when they build up so many offenses, the police are required to do their job and they may go to jail, and these offenses bog down the system." Lazaro said Judge John Baxter, a local judge, started a Salt Lake City justice homeless outreach program, where he comes every other Friday to the Weigand Center and holds court. This gives individuals who are on the street an opportunity to clear up their tickets . They might not have transportation to the courthouse, or they might be intimidated to go to court. It ultimately saves the taxpayers money. Not just anyone can go to his court. It is only for minor offenses. If the offenses are more serious he will set up a court date for his courtroom. "We also have our partnership with the Department of Workforce Services (DWS)," said Lazaro. "The DWS not only helps our homeless clients, but also the working poor who come to our food pantry, or for rental assistance. It gives them an opportunity to meet with a DWS representative to sign them up for food stamps and for other government benefits. Our ultimate goal is to assist individuals to gain access to benefits so they are not homeless. "The goal of CCS is to promote self reliance," said Lazaro. "In early August we will host an Alcoholics Anonymous support group. We have a lot of good programs planned for the future. We feel like we have a second opportunity, and we want to make the most of it. The individuals we help are so pleased to have a place to go during the day where they will not be asked to leave." "We are thrilled to have this second opportunity, and together as a community, we know we can make a difference," said Lazaro.
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