Letter: To fix homelessness, tackle treatment first

(Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Men congregate outside the Road Home shelter on 400 West and 250 South in Salt Lake city on Monday, Feb. 26 2018. In 2016, Utah’s annual estimate of people experiencing homelessness was 13,460. Since 20 to 25 percent of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness that means that (approximately) 2,700 homeless people in Utah are mentally ill.

People with poor mental health are more susceptible to factors that can lead to them becoming homeless. They are more likely to be poor, disaffiliate themselves from their family and friends (and people in general), and most likely feel extremely vulnerable. I believe…