SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The discovery of 27 people living in the same house in Washington City, including children in unsafe conditions, may be an extreme, but not isolated, scenario in Utah.
A northern Utah woman, who does not want to be identified, said a home in her neighborhood may have more than 20 people living there.
“It breaks my heart,” she said, adding she was informed about the house by an administrator where her kids went to school. She called police and DCFS.
MORE | Crowded House Deemed ‘Unsafe’
The Weber County Sheriff’s Office confirms a school resource officer contacted a local police department for more follow-up at the property. 2News reached out to the department for information, but as of this writing, had not heard back.
After the southern Utah case, ICE said it detained 19 of the 27 people in the crammed home, some with deportation orders, removal orders, or facing criminal charges.
Tara Rollins of the Utah Housing Coalition did not speak to the alleged law-breaking, but said her organization hears from people with lots of individuals under the same roof.
“I know them because they call us because they’re in trouble,” she said, as tenants are facing evictions.
“When you look at families doubling or tripling up, they’re trying to stay under the radar,” Rollins said. “The problem is people cannot afford to live in our community. It’s so expensive.”
In Park City, KPCW reported on ski resort workers who were packed into small apartments, including eight employees who “paid $7,500 a month for a two-bedroom.”
In another case reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, “a dozen workers were paying $12,000 per month to live together in a one-bedroom apartment.”
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