Utah is moving forward with a plan to open a behavioral health campus in 2027 that will provide psychiatric and substance use disorder treatment services for up to 1,300 people experiencing homelessness, The New York Times reported Oct. 29.
The 16-acre site near Salt Lake City will include inpatient and court-ordered care, according to the state Homeless Services Board.
Here are five things to know:
- The site will include about 400 psychiatric treatment beds, as well as 400 substance use disorder treatment beds “as an alternative to jail,” a board spokesperson told the Times.
- The facility will hold hundreds of homeless people with a mental health condition under court-ordered civil commitment.
- The plan began before President Donald Trump took office and accelerated following a July executive order calling for expanded use of involuntary treatment and enforcement of camping bans, according to the report.
- Construction is estimated to cost $75 million, with annual operating costs of $34 million. Officials have proposed redirecting federal homelessness grants and establishing an outpatient clinic to support funding.
- The facility will operate under a treatment-first model, with housing and services potentially conditioned on treatment participation or sobriety.
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