As winter sets in and temperatures drop, it's important the unsheltered have a place where they won't freeze to death. It's literally the least we can do—it's also mandated by state law for communities to have plans for warming centers on nights that drop below a certain temperature.
In a sane world, we wouldn't need warming centers—we'd provide housing, alongside a robust social safety net. We shouldn't need warming centers because everyone should have a warm place of their own. Studies prove it's cheaper to house folks and it's definitely more humane and Christian. But Christian Conservatism, despite its name, is hardly Christian nor interested in conserving money. It's interested in owning the libs and punishing the tired, poor, huddled masses.
Look no further than Fruit Heights in Davis County. The Mountain Road Church offered itself as a warming center on cold nights. What's more Christian than a church opening its doors to offer refuge? Neighbors packed meetings to complain until the pastor was forced to rescind the offer. Naturally, this is also a highly religious community that overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, someone who doesn't represent any Christian ideals.
Pointing out their hypocrisy doesn't really matter. They don't care. They have a scale of priorities and the top of their list is "ME!" Many residents cited unfounded fears around "safety." Wayne Niederhauser, the state's man on homelessness, told Fox 13 on Nov. 7 that last year, warming centers were only open for roughly 30 days—without a single reported safety issue.
Kaysville is taking a stronger stand. Republican mayor Tamara Tran vowed to "do everything in my power to prevent" a warming center. Instead, Kaysville's best offer was a "warming bus." I can only guess where that bus might head ... Salt Lake City, perhaps? A city that practices what they preach.
You'll hear people call Salt Lake City a trash hole because of homelessness, but where else should the unsheltered go? At least here, they'll get "Christian" treatment—services, warming and resource centers and other help.
It's not perfect—trust me, the city has a long way to go. Salt Lake should go housing first. Who will pay for it, you ask? Again, it's cheaper to pony that money up than what we're doing now. We're already paying for it. Moving toward housing first would just take the pain out for the unsheltered, and that's no fun for conservatives.
Yes, our neighbors are hypocrites. They hate Salt Lake City for doing the things their religions say they should be doing. And yes, they hate that kindness would be cheaper.
But cruelty is the point.
With Donald Trump taking office, NIMBYs are only going to be emboldened to fight against sensible things. Next they'll be railing against street lights, libraries, clean air and water.
It's bad. And yet, something tells me that they are about to make things even worse.