The recent Arctic cold snap brought Utah County's homeless situation to the front burner.

Brent Crane, director of the Food and Care Coalition, told the Daily Herald he had to turn away people seeking shelter one frigid night because his group didn't have the resources to help them. Crane also pointed to the freezing death of a homeless man in a jeep this past week. It is not clear whether the man could not get housing assistance or chose not to seek it.

This naturally raises the question of whether Utah County needs a homeless shelter. At present, we do not have an official shelter to house people when temperatures dip below zero. The Hotel Roberts, which was Utah County's de facto homeless shelter for many years, has been torn down.

But a better question is this: What long-term strategy do we have to help the homeless get off the streets for goodfi

The question is timely because immediate relief is already being provided. While we have no barrack-style dormitory in which to spend a night, there are groups that are helping to accommodate the needy. The coalition and Community Action Agency work with local motels to put people up for a night. Local police departments are aware of the arrangement and can aim people toward the appropriate agency.

Community Action, which works with homeless families who are not domestic violence victims, uses the motels for short-term housing. Identifying low-cost apartments and houses often follows within a couple of days.

The motel arrangement is superior in some ways to a new brick-and-mortar shelter since agencies don't have to spend money to maintain a building that may not be used to its fullest at all times. Also, many homeless people prefer having a private motel room than having to share a shelter with dozens of "roommates." (Who wouldn'tfi)

Nor are all homeless people living on the street. Myla Dutton, Community Action's executive director, said that some families double up in houses because one family does not have a place to live. They're not on the street, but they're homeless since they do not have a stable place to live. In those cases, the host family is also at risk of losing the home because of the added strain on the household budget.

As far as short-term needs go, Utah County does well at caring for the homeless. But just getting someone a warm place to sleep is not enough. The way to ultimately solve the problem is to get these people into a stable home situation.

The county is taking steps in that direction. Mountainland Association of Governments' executive council adopted a plan this past year that calls for creating support programs as well as building more affordable housing in the area.

However, creating affordable housing can be tricky, given that many people here view affordable housing as a code word for "inner-city ghetto." Builders trying to create rental units many times encounter a mob of irate residents at city council meetings who say that "transients" will undermine neighborhoods, churches and schools as well as contribute to crime and other social ills.

Failure to provide housing, on the other hand, will not make the homeless problem go away. It may actually make the situation worse.

Government can offer incentives for builders to create affordable housing, such as granting developers a density bonus or some other variance from zoning regulations in return for building a certain number of homes for low-income residents. The challenge is changing public attitudes.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.