KUTV 2 News: Group estimates sheltering homeless to cost $230k for each housing unit

by Brian Mullahy, KUTV, Thu, January 15, 2026 at 7:53 PM

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A report for the Salt Lake Valley Coalition to End Homelessness estimates the cost of housing everyone in the county who needs a roof over their head at $1.57 billion over four years.

That's an average of nearly $230,000 per housing unit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCe0LdYeuSk

An anti-poverty group cited the report as it organized a rally at the Utah Capitol, urging lawmakers and Governor Cox to pour money into homeless programs — even as the state has stepped up contributions over the last five to 10 years.

Paul Blanchard, who spoke at the rally, said he's been homeless "on and off" for more than two decades. He said he was struck by the numbers.

"I think we can get a better deal," Blanchard said.

Building cheaper housing for homeless individuals and families has already happened.

At the Other Side Village on Salt Lake's west side, 60 of 450 tiny homes have been built, and construction is moving forward.

Preston Cochrane, CEO of the non-profit, said each house is $140,000, which includes the foundation, utility hookups, landscaping, and sidewalks. It does not include land, which the village leases from the city for $1/year.

But Cochrane insisted, "not everyone needs a house."

"Housing does not solve homelessness," he said. "You have to get to the root causes."

That seems different than the priorities outlined by "faith leaders, anti-homelessness advocates and elected officials" on Thursday.

"The purpose of this rally is to remind Utah policymakers than any proposal for reducing homelessness that does not include deeply affordable housing," said a release, "with appropriate services for seniors, families with children, people with developmental disabilities and other vulnerable populations will fail."

Bill Tibbits of the Crossroads Urban Center said the report with the cost estimates is the only one of its kind.

"Nobody else has tried to come up with an estimate of what it would take in terms of housing and services to end homelessness," Tibbits said. "Housing is ridiculously expensive."

2News contacted aides to legislative leaders and Governor Cox, asking if they had responses to the estimated numbers, and did not hear back Thursday.