S.L. DONOR ADDS $75,000 TO WOMEN'S SHELTER FUND

A Salt Lake philanthropist, who already gave $162,000 in 1986 to the city's shelter for homeless men and families, recently contributed $75,000 towards a shelter for homeless women, an official said.

The contribution brings the city closer to raising the $400,000 to $600,000 necessary for the new shelter, said Steve Holbrook, coordinator for the Shelter the Homeless Committee, a private, non-profit group administering two city homeless projects.The money is the first private gift toward the new facility, although $275,000 in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County community development funds have already been set aside for the project, Holbrook said.

Officials are still reviewing where to locate the facility, planned to house approximately 40 homeless women, Holbrook said.

The city has not yet identified potential sites but is focusing on what physical facilities the shelter should have.

"We've talked about co-locating with other facilities," Holbrook said. A women's shelter could benefit from proximity to other homeless facilities near the men's and family's shelter at 210 S. Rio Grande St.

"But it's not clear whether there is a building that would be adequate in that area or even if it's valuable to put it there," he said.

The city is looking for either an existing building, in which case the shelter could open this fall, or will build a new shelter, prolonging its opening until next spring, Holbrook said.

The women's shelter marks one of the final "capital plans" the homeless committee is administering, Holbrook said. The final fund-raising effort will be to pay for a trust fund to maintain the homeless shelters.