Today, Utah Community Builders, the nonprofit foundation of the Salt Lake Chamber, announced that Carol Hollowell, executive director of Switchpoint, will be honored with the 6th Annual Utah Community Builder Award. The award recognizes an inspirational individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to address critical community needs.
“Carol’s commitment to addressing homelessness and poverty in Utah has been inspirational,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “Her innovative strategies have not only helped reshape the lives of people experiencing homelessness and mental illness, but community perception. The projects Carol helps lead provide housing, food assistance, job training and mental health support for so many. We are honored to recognize her, and thank her, for these life-changing efforts.”
Utah Community Builders engages business leaders to address pressing community issues and to develop and strengthen Utah’s workforce. This reinforces partnerships between business leaders, service providers, academic experts and government agencies on issues affecting Utah’s business community.
Hollowell will be formally recognized during the Giant in our City event on April 25, 2024, at the Grand America Hotel where Clark Ivory, CEO of Ivory Homes, will be honored as the 45th Giant in our City.
For more information: click here.
Honoree bio below:
Carol Hollowell was inspired to embark on a career dedicated to serving those experiencing homelessness after encountering Ray, a wheelchair-bound individual, on the streets in 2013. Ray had been homeless for five years simply due to a lost wallet. After helping him obtain an ID and secure stable housing, Hollowell knew she found her purpose. Thus, Switchpoint was born.
Switchpoint’s model combines Carol’s years of business experience with her innovative problem-solving skills. As a serial entrepreneur, Carol developed Switchpoint to lift and empower individuals in their resolve to become self-sufficient.
In 2020, Carol received the Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Social Impact for creating a new standard and best practices in homeless services. In 2023, Carol received the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Informed Decision Maker of the Year Award. Knowing that temporary shelters were not enough, she continued to adapt in order to meet the ever-changing needs of Utah’s most vulnerable. Switchpoint addresses the layers that keep people stuck, offering a wide array of services to set them on a new path.
Carol also understood that homelessness can’t be solved without a place to relocate, and so she began tackling the extreme lack of affordable housing. In 2020, Switchpoint opened Riverwalk Apartments which became home to 172 residents. In addition, Switchpoint purchased 3 hotels and converted them to studio apartments to house vulnerable seniors, veterans, and those with disabilities housing over 400 individuals.
Carol’s vision is to create 1,000 units of deeply affordable housing in Utah this year!
