This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Switchpoint, which started in St. George, Utah, has grown into a statewide movement meeting the needs of those facing housing insecurity. Through shelter, housing, case management and support services, they are helping neighbors rebuild their lives. CEO Carol Hollowell, joins us with more.
Carol Hollowell:
Eleven years ago, we met a man on the street who simply needed a photo ID. That single encounter sparked what is now Utah’s largest statewide provider of homeless and poverty services.
At Switchpoint, we believe only one thing truly solves homelessness: a home.
But a home without support services doesn’t stick. So we wrap housing with everything people need, emergency shelter, food pantries, case management, programs for teens and youth and six social enterprises that fund our mission while training our clients.
Today, we operate more than 13 sites with nearly 400 employees across Utah. Right now, our most urgent focus is a crisis hiding in plain sight: senior homelessness, which has increased by 42 percent, with veteran homelessness up 36 percent.
That’s a double-digit rise among the very people who helped build this community.
It takes all of us, and we’re grateful to stand together in addressing it.
Derek Miller:
By empowering those in need, addressing the root causes of poverty and providing critical homeless services, Switchpoint is creating meaningful change here in Utah. Learn more about their mission and impact at Switchpoint.org. I’m Derek Miller, with the Salt Lake Chamber, Speaking on Business.
