The warming center inside a Logan church closed for the season in April after its busiest winter yet, as more people than ever turned to it for help.
In three years, the number of people coming inside on the coldest nights of the year has doubled — from about 100 in its first season to 207 this past one.
“Things aren’t getting easier for people and housing continues to be a challenge,” said Jayme Walters, president of the William A. Burnard Warming Center. “Homelessness doesn’t go away when we close in April.”
Because of the rising demand, Walters said the nonprofit has been trying to launch a communitywide study to map out whether a year-round resource center is possible in Cache Valley. But funding for such a study has been hard to come by.
She believes the area needs a more stable solution — not just temporary shelter at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, but a place where people also can access support to help them get back on their feet.
The planned study would bring together service providers like CAPSA (Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse), The Family Place, and the Bear River Association of Governments. Its goal is to create a community-driven plan for what a full-scale center should look like — and what it would take to make it work.
Walters said a center could offer basic shelter, case management, and additional support such as housing assistance, health care, education, and job training.
“We need to understand what our community has,” Walters said, “what strengths we have, and there’s a lot of them. But also, what are the gaps?”
‘Some support from the city’
Logan City is set to receive $558,464 from the annual federal Community Development Block Grant, according to Community Development Director Mike DeSimone. Of that amount, the Warming Center requested $15,000 to fund half of the cost of the study. Last week, the City Council voted to grant only $6,616.
DeSimone explained only $111,693 of the grant can be used for planning-related activities — such as a feasibility study — as federal rules limit administrative and planning expenses to 20% of the total amount. And after covering annual grant management costs, only about $1,616 was left for planning efforts, DeSimone said.
Still, City Council members and Mayor Holly Daines chose to support the nonprofit by approving additional funds, which the Community Development department will need to offset from its own budget.
“My advice would be to maybe take $5,000,” Daines said to the council, “which would still enough leave enough for the basic salary costs and admin, add it to the $1,600, just to show as they’re continuing to apply for grants, that at least they do have some support from the city.”
Should counties have more ‘skin in the game?’
Russ Price, treasurer for the Warming Center, said the small amount granted by the Logan council is appreciated, and will give the center the opportunity to focus on homeless services in the city — from affordable housing to homeless prevention.
However, he said the nonprofit will need $60,000 to $70,000 for a comprehensive study for the three counties served by the Bear River Local Homelessness Council.
“The funding decision sends an important message to Logan residents,” Price said, “and especially to our at-risk population that we see them and are concerned for their safety.”
The center is currently supported primarily through community fundraising, state grants, and volunteer hours. Finding funding for a well-rounded study is still a major barrier, he said.
The city can only consider funding programs located within city limits, he said, not the broader Bear River region. That means the funds granted by the council Tuesday will only be able to assess services and needs in Logan, not in Cache, Box Elder or Rich counties.
“Counties should have more skin in the game,” Price said. “Cache County has not really engaged in these service needs, but they are the ones who generally are looked to, to provide social services.”
He said he would expect a study to detail a need for more affordable housing in the area.
“They can do all they want to do at a state level to say, ‘We’re working on this. We’re trying to drive numbers down,’” Price said. “But the numbers, frankly, are going up. They’re not going down and that will be the case as long as normal folks like you and me can’t afford a mortgage.”
‘I would support a shelter but my neighbor wouldn’t’
In 2024, the official point-in-time count recorded 157 people experiencing homelessness in the Bear River region — but service providers in the area say the true scope is much harder to measure.
Dorothy Wallis is a social worker at Utah State University and faculty affiliate with the Transforming Communities Institute, which supports community engaged research to find solutions to social issues. She said she’s heard of many individuals experiencing homelessness who sleep in their cars, camp in the canyon or rely on coach surfing.
“If you talk to people who have experienced unsheltered homelessness before," Wallis said, “... they’ll tell you the number is much higher.”
Wallis recently helped lead a survey examining Cache Valley residents’ attitudes toward homelessness and potential solutions.
One survey question measured public support for a 24/7 shelter or resource center, with 87% of respondents expressing their willingness to support it. But when asked if they thought their neighbor felt the same, confidence dropped significantly, Wallis said, especially when the term “shelter” was used instead of “resource center.”
“People care,” Wallis said, “but they’re not sure other people care, when the reality is actually a lot of people care. That’s what the data is saying.”
