As winter cold
rips through most of the northern hemisphere, one chilly
city in Germany has adopted a more humane approach to
caring for unhoused people. Ulm has implemented
sleeping pods for people who do not have overnight
shelter and housing, giving them warmth and
protection from brutal weather. One of the best parts of
Ulm's approach is that, when a pod is activated, a
social worker is notified and comes to check in on the
person's safety in the morning. This approach — of
supporting unhoused populations with care and social
support, rather than criminalization — is not only more
compassionate, it also works!
These wonderful
protective pods in Ulm have each been fitted
with safety systems to measure carbon dioxide
and temperature, as well as ventilation systems,
lighting, solar panels, and more. They even have enough
room to store each person's belongings and
include space for a pet! One of the
many American cities that could benefit from this model
is Salt Lake City, Utah, which has a large number of
unhoused people — as well as a history of treating them
inhumanely. Even in the midst of a pandemic, police have
been witnessed violently destroying encampments
throughout the city. But the example of Ulm
shows there is another way. Sign the petition to
convince authorities in Salt Lake City to implement a
program similar to that in
Ulm!