Keep the heart in Hartland

By the end of summer, many refugees who resettled in Salt Lake City from war-ravaged places such as Somalia, Sudan and Eastern Europe could be out of a place to live.

They are tenants of an apartment complex at 1700 South and Redwood Road known as the Hartland Apartments. Residents of the complex, including low-income Salt Lake residents, would be physically removed from a network of services intended to help refugees assimilate into American society and eventually become self-sufficient.

The housing crisis is the result of multiple factors. Hartland Apartments recently was sold. The new owner has raised rents $50 to $200 a month. This comes as some tenants' leases are set to expire and federal subsidies for rent have dried up.

This is a problem that requires the larger community's best thinking and efforts.

It is clearly on the radar of Salt Lake community and business leaders. They met last week to attempt to resolve this looming housing crisis. One possible solution would be to purchase the apartment complex from its new owners. Talks reportedly are under way between the owners and Zions Bank officials.

These efforts are laudable because they suggest a broad understanding of the difficulties refugees face in overcoming their broken pasts. Add to that the many difficulties of resettling in a country, such as learning English or mastering life skills such as managing household budgets and using technology. The prospect of losing one's housing — literally one's anchor — only compounds these challenges.

In some respects, the apartment complex itself serves a purpose in that the residents are able to help one another transition into their new lives. If residents cannot afford the rent due to increases or the loss of federal subsidies, they will be displaced from a complex that is, in itself, their community.

Just as Utahns welcomed the world during the 2002 Winter Games, the plight of the residents of Hartland Apartments now presents an ongoing opportunity to welcome the strangers among us. All Utahns — public officials and private citizens alike — should assess how they might lend a hand to residents of Hartland.