City officials outline need for 1,000–1,600 year‑round emergency beds; call for state partnership and steady funding

Salt Lake City officials told the City Council the city needs between 1,000 and 1,600 year‑round emergency shelter beds and steady funding for housing, behavioral‑health and homeless services to reduce pressure on the system.

Andrew Johnson, director of homeless policy and outreach, said the city is operating near capacity at resource centers and that winter programs are stretched. "We're still running a good, high capacity at the resource centers. This is actually slightly down from the previous couple of weeks. Probably can't tell from the number, though, 97%," Johnson said.

The administration reported roughly 980 winter‑only beds and about 1,195 year‑round beds — "about 2,000 beds" in total when combined with other sites, Johnson said. He described two bed categories: overflow winter beds open for the season, and separate Code Blue beds that open only on nights when the state declares extreme cold conditions. Johnson said the city is…